However, the passing of Amendment One in North Carolina this week really inspired me to make comment.
As the title of this entry suggests, I am very disappointed with North Carolina.
Okay, not everyone in North Carolina. I am pleased that 39 percent of us were willing to stand against this piece of…”legislation”.
No, the ones I am disappointed in are part of the 61 percent that voted for the amendment. That means, statistically, three out of every five people I encounter each day are probably those who voted for the amendment. That does not make me at all comfortable with the state I have lived in for the past twenty-four years.
For many years, NC has defined the term “marriage” as the union of one man and one woman. That is no surprise. Thirty other states also agree with this definition of the word.
However, what Amendment One did was make the statement that NC will not recognize any other domestic legal unions except those involving one man and one woman. That is the real key. Three words - domestic legal union.
The amendment is a denial of legal rights pertaining to housing (the right hold real estate jointly), transfer of property upon death, adoption, divorce, worker’s compensation, wrongful death, domestic violence, tax benefits, family leave benefits, medical care and visitation to any committed couple that is not one-man-one-woman.
A domestic legal union between one man and one woman, of course, is a slam of the door against same-sex couples. It does not matter how long you have been in a committed relationship with the person you love. In North Carolina, if the couple is of the same sex then you have no automatic rights in any of the above areas. And that ticks me off quite a bit. I have a number of gay and lesbian friends, many in very committed relationships. The fact that they now have rights denied them just because of their sexual orientation is discrimination. Is this the 21st century or the stone age? In NC, it would appear to be the later.
What is even more frustrating is that this amendment passed on Tuesday May 8th. On Wednesday, May 9th, President Obama steps up and makes an official statement that he supports gay marriage. Really, Barack? You had to wait for NC to make a bone-headed move before you finally took a position officially? You couldn’t have done it a few days before? I am certain that the sheep-voters in NC (you know there are many - look how easily they were duped by the local ads that only had to scream “say no to gay marriage” to get this amendment passed by such a wide margin) had heard you say this prior to Tuesday’s vote that they too would have agreed and the amendment would have been defeated.
Some of the supporters for this change in NC will use the Bible as their reference point. Now, I was raised Catholic and go to Mass (and believe me, that puts me in a minority here in the South). I get the religious vibe. However, I was raised too to have an open-mind and to love everyone. God has instructed us to do that. I am not seeing much love coming from 61% of the NC voters. Also, the Bible tells us that God is the only one to ultimately judge us on our lives and actions. So why does NC feel they need legislation to do that in this particular case?
Okay, I have stepped out of my normal comfort zone here. I have brought up politics and religion, the two topics that are always sure to strike up controversy. I am sure my comment section will be on fire after this one.
Time to bring it back around to what I usually talk about - entertainment.
I am off to go listen to the latest Titus Podcast (click here) - congrats, NC, for giving my favorite comedian a topic for this week’s rant.
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