The protests come just days after North Carolina voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman.

 

Organizers say gay couples and supporters will sit in county buildings and refuse to leave until they are arrested. 

They say police have been notified and the protests will be nonviolent.

 

The demonstrations are part of the "We Do" campaign organized by the Campaign for Southern Equality, a pro lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group. The arrests are part of an eight-city series of events where gay North Carolinians will seek and be denied marriage licenses.