Some opponents say this amendment is not needed, that North Carolina already provides rights for victims of crime?

While there are some rights for crime victims in the Constitution, they are limited to statute, and do not carry an enforcement provision - meaning victims do not currently have any recourse when their rights are violated.  Simply put, if the rights of victims are found in statute and the rights of the accused and defendants are found in the Constitution, defendants rights will always carry more weight than those of the victims. 

The current protections adopted 20 years ago for victims were a good start, but there are gaps in victim protections - they are not always consistently applied from county to county and regionally.  This amendment will provide specific, uniform, and enforceable rights statewide so that victims are guaranteed to receive the same rights that those who are accused and convicted have.  Under Marsy's Law, victims of crime will also have their rights in the Constitution - and not be subject to changing legislative laws, guaranteeing them stronger rights than they have today.