Raleigh becomes state's largest city to oppose marriage amendment

In the first meeting of a new term, the Raleigh City Council on Tuesday passed a resolution opposing a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages in North Carolina.

The 6-2 vote drew applause from about 30 people in the audience. "To me, it's all about supporting families," said John Saxon, an assistant minister at the fellowship. "Families come in all shapes and sizes. We ought to be about recognizing and supporting all the different kinds."

Council members John Odom and Bonner Gaylord voted in the minority. Odom, the council's lone Republican, said he thinks marriage is between a man and a woman.

While the state legislature was debating the same-sex marriage amendment earlier this year, three Triangle municipalities - Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Durham - took the symbolic step of opposing the measure, according to the gay rights group Equality North Carolina. Read more on the Raleigh decision here.