NEWS FLASH

North Carolina Businesses Staying Neutral On Amendment 1 | The majority of North Carolina’s businesses are staying mum on Amendment 1, a constitutional measure that would ban same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships in the state. “North Carolina’s chamber of commerce hasn’t heard much from its members on the amendment and is staying neutral, CEO Lew Ebert tells the Associated Press, even as some leaders have raised concerns that the measure could offend perspective hires and pollute the state’s business environment. Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, for instance, has become one of the amendment’s most vocal opponents and has gone so far as to compare the amendment to the South’s segregationist Jim Crow laws. Bank of America’s Catherine P. Bessant — a “global technology and operations executive” — has also spoken out against the measure, noting, “We’re in a war with other states across the country who would love to have the jobs that we have today … Amendment One has the potential to have a disastrous effect on our ability to attract talent and keep talent in the state of North Carolina.” The company itself is headquartered in North Carolina and is staying neutral on the matter.