INSTITUTE INDEX: The money behind North Carolina's marriage discrimination amendment

Date on which North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment declaring that "marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State": 5/8/2012

Statewide vote on the amendment: 61-39%

Total population of North Carolina: 9.6 million

Number of North Carolinians who voted in favor of the amendment: 1,303,994

Number who voted against it: 832,283

Percent of North Carolina's registered voters who cast a ballot for the amendment: just over 20

Rank of North Carolina among the Southern states where the percentage of voters who favored such an amendment was lowest: 1

Amount conservative N.C. benefactor Art Pope and his family contributed to N.C. legislative races in 2010, money that helped secure a historic takeover by Republicans who went on to put the marriage amendment on the ballot over Democrats' objections: $758,500

Amount Pope's family foundation contributed to leading anti-gay marriage organizations in the years leading up to the amendment vote: more than $1 million

Amount Pope's foundation contributed to the N.C. Family Policy Council, which helped lead the fight for the amendment: $965,000

Date on which a "Values Bus Tour" organized by religious-right leaders to mobilize for the amendment began at a conference organized by the Civitas Institute, a conservative advocacy group that says it promotes limited government: 3/3/2012

Percent of Civitas' income provided by Pope, who is also a national director of Americans for Prosperity, the Koch Brothers-affiliated group that played a key role in the Republicans' 2010 takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives: more than 97

Amount raised by the Protect All NC Families campaign that opposed Amendment One: more than $2 million

Amount that the NAACP provided to buy ads against the amendment: $500,000

Amount raised by the pro-amendment Vote for Marriage NC campaign: more than $1 million

As of one week before the vote, percent of money raised by the pro-amendment side that came from individuals as opposed to organizational donors: 29

Percent of money raised by the anti-amendment side that came from individuals: 60

Amount contributed to Vote for Marriage NC by the Christian Action League, which has its roots in the early 20th century prohibition movement for a constitutional ban on alcohol: $344,276.16

Amount contributed to Vote for Marriage NC by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a group formed to pass Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage in California: $425,000

Date on which internal documents were unsealed as part of Maine's ongoing campaign finance investigation into NOM, stating that the group aimed "to drive a wedge between gays and blacks -- two key Democratic constituencies": 3/26/2012

Date on which the wife of state Sen. Pete Brunstetter (R), the sponsor of one of the bills to put the marriage amendment on North Carolina's ballot, made remarks to a poll worker that linked the amendment to a need to protect the Caucasian race: 5/1/2012

(Click on figure to go to source.)