Things I love about North Carolina for: Sweet tea, chicken and biscuits, the UNC/Duke rivalry, Smithfield's Chicken & BBQ, Brunswick Stew, Topsail Island, my introduction to boiled peanuts, the fact that Harley and (the late) Singer kitties were adopted from there, the fact that it was the state that raised and made my husband into the wonderful man he is, and the fact that it played a safe harbor to me for the most pivotal year and a half of my life.
Things I am MASSIVELY disappointed in North Carolina for: Passing Amendment 1 to your State Constitution yesterday and basically putting Jim Crow 2.0 (thanks to Cary Academy student Joe Calder for that one) on the books; and thus giving the rest of the country something else to look down their noses at the South for.
I do not often REALLY write about politics and religion, but today I am. I'm angry, sad, and in an odd way, feel pretty betrayed. North Carolina, I really thought better of you.
I've spent a good amount of time since I found out the amendment past bursting into tears. I take this personally. I've never felt anything but 100% safe and loved anytime I was in North Carolina, but now the love and security I have been able to know will not be to known to a fair percentage of the state, and why?
Prejudice, Misunderstanding, Blind Faith?
I should start by defining my political and religious beliefs, I think it would make it easier....
Politically I'm socially liberal and relatively fiscally conservative. Religious beliefs tend to get a bit more murky. I fall into the category of spiritually agnostic. I think there's something or someone bigger than all of us, but I cannot guarantee that his/her/its name is God, and I also can't buy into the fact that millions of believers all over the world are damned because they don't believe in "the right" god.
Now that that's out of the way.... Dear Government and anyone who votes: PLEASE STAY THE HELL OUT OF ALL OF OUR HEARTS AND BEDROOMS! I fell in love with a wanted to marry a man. So, does that mean I win the "you get a chance at happily ever after" lottery because I'm straight? Well that just sounds silly. What if I had fallen in love with a woman, or a one eyed one horned flying purple people eater, or a big granite boulder, or a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Rachel Maddow? (That last one...TOTALLY with in the realm of possibility!)
This country is facing enough problems: unemployment, national debt, health care, bringing a troops home from overseas, global warming....I could go on and on...yet you, North Carolina choose to focus on who can marry whom? (As well as Civil Unions, let me be clear on that as well.) Shame on you! Shame on your short-sightedness!
This country was build on freedom. Now you're choosing to take that away little by little. What's next? The gay and lesbian vote? Their ability to go to school, own property, to learn to read? How backwards are things REALLY going to have to go before someone puts a stop to this kind of petty discrimination?
It's going to bite the government in the ass in the long-run. The wording of both the measure on the ballot and the amendment to the North Carolina State Constitution is so shoddy that it doesn't stand a chance in court. Which in the end is good, but take a moment and think of all the tax payer money that is going to go to the overturning of Amendment 1, which could be going to something else. NC's State Attorney General Roy Cooper even voted against it. How passionate of a defense is it REALLY going to get in court??
Ballot language
The language that voters saw on the ballot reads:[7]
Constitutional amendment to provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.
Constitutional changes
The proposed measure amended Article 14 of the North Carolina Constitution by adding a new
section:
Sec. 6. Marriage.
Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal
union that shall be valid or recognized in this State. This section
does not prohibit a private party from entering into contracts with
another private party; nor does this section prohibit courts from
adjudicating the rights of private parties pursuant to such contracts.
**Taken from: http://www.ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/North_Carolina_Same-Sex_Marriage,_Amendment_1_%28May_2012%29
I really wonder how many of the people who voted for Amendment 1 actually have someone that is gay in their life? This may be worded oddly, but I think the sentiment sums it all up: I sincerely hope that it is ignorance that caused this bill to pass and note hatred. Ignorance can be educated, hatred is much harder.
I promise, tomorrow...back to perfume. :o) And sorry, couldn't get that yellow block off the blog.
I doubt there is anyone who does not have someone gay in their life. Usually, the people who believe that they don't are the ones who (1) believe all of the stereotypes, (2) are so vocally homophobic that people don't dare come out to them, or (3) are trying to hide their own gayness so much that they simply refuse to think/talk about or acknowledge it. Often, the most homophobic are those who are actually ashamed of themselves. How sad.
ReplyDeleteIt is equally sad that voters do not understand how these types of votes affect EVERYone. The door to absolute governmental invasion is opened a tiny crack each time votes like the above pass. It's sad that those voters won't take notice until they are personally and directed affected...and even then, they won't see how they contributed to their own demise.
My final comment: funny how so many republikans claim to want less government. I guess they mean less government for the straight people.