North Carolina's courts are unlikely to legalize gay marriage.

Sharon Thompson, a Durham attorney specializing in cases involving gays and lesbians, said that there is little case law around the state constitution's equal protection provisions that could be used to argue for same-sex marriage.

State judges in California, Massachusetts and Connecticut have intrepreted provisions of those states' constitutions to affirm the rights of gays to marry.

Article I, Section 19 of North Carolina's constitution calls for "equal protection" of state laws, but Thompson said there have not been the kind of court decisions broadening that definition that would be necessary to build an opinion around.

"We don't have the stepping stones that would lead us to that," she said.

The N.C. Supreme Court, which would have the final say on any case based on the state constitution, currently has a 4-3 Republican majority, although state Appeals court judges have affirmed the custodial rights of gay partners in several recent cases.

Previously: N.C. likey to avoid gay marriage referendum

Don't expect a state referendum on gay marriage anytime soon.

Ian Palmquist, executive director of the gay rights group Equality N.C., said that he is cautiously optimistic that the leadership of the state House and Senate will remain the same in the coming year, preventing a referendum from being put on the ballot.

After California voters added a gay marriage ban to their state constitution in a recent election, gays and lesbians nationally have mobilized to protest similar measures, holding rallies in North Carolina this weekend.

State Republicans have long called for a referendum here, although a state law from 1871 defines marriage as between "a male and female person" and a second law from 1996 specifically invalidates same-sex unions.

The state House and Senate would have to approve putting a referendum on the ballot by three-fifths margins. (The governor usually has no say.) Saying a referendum is unnecessary, Democratic leaders in the state House and Senate have blocked it from coming to a vote.

Palmquist said he's happy that North Carolina has avoided a referendum.

"You're essentially putting the rights of a minority up to a popular vote without any other checks and balances on it," he said. "That's not what constitutions are for."

Hot-button issues inspired Dome readers to hit their mouse buttons.

In 2007, the most-viewed posts on the Under the Dome blog touched on the most contentious issues of the day: illegal immigration, homosexuality, the Duke lacrosse case and state political corruption.

Another drew a national audience because of its ties to national news.

Counting down the Top Five Most Viewed of 2007:

5. Wright's reimbursements: State Rep. Thomas Wright was paid eight times for travel when he was already in Raleigh, an investigation reveals.

4. Toasted Nifong: A downtown Raleigh bar offers "Toasted Nifong w/ a side order of National News" on its menu, lampooning the Duke lacrosse prosecutor.

3. The Orange County factor: An anti-John Edwards piece on "The O'Reilly Factor" misrepresented Orange County residents interviewed.

2. Neal: Being gay 'no big deal': Jim Neal, candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, reveals on local blog that he is gay.

1. Lancaster defends illegal immigrant policy: Martin Lancaster, president of the state community College System, defends the rights of illegal immigrants to study.

The No. 1 post is tops in another area. Thanks in part to a link on a local Web site opposed to illegal immigration, it generated 219 comments—the most of any Dome post this year.

John Edwards' gay supporters say that he'll work for equality.

Although the former North Carolina senator has repeatedly said he's "not there yet" in supporting gay marriage, he does have support among the gay community as he heads into tonight's Democratic forum sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Rob Christensen reports.

"The Edwards campaign from day one has worked to cultivate the LGBT community," said Eric Stern, a gay activist from California said during an Edwards campaign teleconference.

He said that Edwards was the first Democrat to release a list of gay supporters, and the first to have a spouse, Elizabeth, support gay marriage. Edwards supports same-sex civil unions.

But Stern said he was also supporting Edwards because of his views on a wide range of issues such as poverty and health care.

Stephen Handwerk, a member of the National Stonewall Democrats board of director, said he was supporting Edwards because of his electability in November.

Bob Shrum was surprised that John Edwards didn't like his book.

In an interview with the Washington Post, the Democratic political consultant said that while he wrote that the former North Carolina senator once said he was "uncomfortable" around gay people, he also noted that Edwards has "evolved" on the issue.

So he was surprised "that the reaction was so strong" from the Edwards campaign, especially when a pollster said the line was taken out of context.

"I think when people say the line's taken out of context, it usually means that the line is actually true," he said.

Shrum also said that Edwards is a "first-tier candidate" who has been "very impressive" on the issues of health care and poverty. (Comments are at 2:12 here.)

John Edwards had a visceral reaction when first asked about gay rights by a campaign consultant, according to a new book.

"No Excuses" is the biography of Robert Shrum, a one-time Edwards adviser who has been a consultant on more than 30 Senate races and several recent presidential campaigns.

In the book, Shrum recalls sitting in a conference room in Edwards' law firm while prepping for his 1998 Senate race with "the usual box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts."

He asked Edwards what his position was on gay rights.

"I'm not comfortable around those people," was how he began his answer.

The full story after the jump.

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