Today’s post is the first in an ongoing series compiling links related to news from in and around the U.S. South. We hope these posts will provide space for lively discussion and debate regarding issues of importance to those living in and intellectually engaging with the U.S. South. Without further ado, The Bulletin.

• The recently passed amendment to North Carolina’s state constitution which defines marriage as "between one man and one woman" has brought the issue of equal rights for same-sex couples into the center of the national political arena over the last couple of weeks.

  Adam Bink of The Huffington Post offers "A Look at What Happened on Amendment 1 in North Carolina," from the perspective of someone involved in the campaign against the amendment.

  Ballotopedia offers a helpful overview of the amendment and the groups campaigning on both sides of the issue.

  The North Carolina Board of Elections maps the official election results.

• The New Orleans Times-Picayune is three weeks into a powerful eight-part series entitled "Louisiana Incarcerated: How We Built the World’s Prison Capital."

  Cindy Chang offers an overview of how legislators and lobbyists have encouraged the growth of the state’s prison population through financial incentives over the last two decades, causing Louisiana to become the world leader in incarceration.

  Statistics from The Sentencing Project demonstrate the racial disparities documented by Chang.

• A case being heard in Charlotte, North Carolina’s Immigration Court today will demonstrate the limits of recent policy changes regarding prosecutorial discretion for deportation cases involving illegal immigrants which pose no threat to national security or public safety.

  The Charlotte Observer and the Latin American Herald-Tribune offer overviews of the case and how local groups and United States Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois) have rallied around Gabino Sanchez, a 27-year-old construction and landscape worker from rural Ridgeland, South Carolina.