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Damn them. With our state General Assembly now under GOP control for the first time since Reconstruction, the bigots in our state Senate, led again by good old boy Gaston County’s James Forrester, has thrown down the gauntlet once again. And he knows that this time, the bill will be heard. (QNotes):
The text of the proposed amendment, which has not yet been filed in the House, would ban any recognition of any “domestic legal union” other than a marriage between an opposite-sex couple. If approved by the legislature, the amendment would appear on the November 2012 ballot. Three-fifths of both the House and Senate must approve the amendment before it can appear on the ballot; the governor has no veto authority on amendments.
Forrester is lobbing this bomb into the NCGA for the seventh eighth time. Do you think he has a problem with gay folks? Just a little 411 — he’s an equal opportunity bigot. From last February:
In his latest bigot eruption, Forrester adds overt racism to his dance card, blaming the states increasingly progressive tilt to blacks that dare to vote, as well as the Homosexual Lobby in the state capital of Raleigh.“The (state) Senate is as liberal as I’ve ever seen it,” Forrester said at the monthly meeting of the Iredell County Young Republicans on Tuesday night in Mooresville.“Slick city lawyers and homosexual lobbies and African American lobbies are running Raleigh,” Forrester added.
…So it may be viewed with some irony that Forrester said the GOP would likely have taken back control of at least one chamber of the General Assembly in 2008 had it not been for what he called the “Obama Tsunami.”
“It brought a lot of blacks out who don’t normally vote,” he said.
Yes, this is what we have to deal with in NC’s GOP and these are the people in charge. As Matt Comer noted in his QNotes piece, all of the co-sponsors of the bill so far are all Republicans. Jerry W. Tillman (R-Montgomery, Randolph) and Dan Soucek (R-Alexander, Ashe, Watauga, Wilkes) are primary sponsors, along with 23 other GOP co-sponsors. Interestingly, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Guilford, Rockingham) did not sign on as sponsor. Wonder what’s on his mind right now as the fringe bigotry in his party calls for its day in the sun.
It will also be interesting to see how many Dems sign on this time (especially now that it has elected a state party chair that is pro-equality; more on that below the fold).
What I do know is that if the GOP wants to play hardball on this issue when we already have a state DOMA (and they need to be working on fixing the economic mess the state is in), I say go for it.
Game on. We will explore every co-sponsor over the next year. The taxpayers have a right to know:
- How many times have these lawmakers been married?
- Who’s breaking the sanctity of their marriage vows?
- Are there closet doors to be kicked open?
- Who’s carousing for same-sex encounters at rest stops?
- Who has their hand in the till?
The voters of NC have a right to know, since these elected officials have decided that they have the right to enshrine bigotry into the state constitution on the basis of two consenting adults having any legal relationship approximating marriage, let alone civil marriage.
Since Charlotte will be the host city for the Democratic National Convention, won’t this be a gem of an albatross hanging over the party’s neck in the “New South“?
More below the fold.The amendment text:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION TO PROVIDE MARRIAGE BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN IS THE ONLY DOMESTIC LEGAL UNION THAT SHALL BE VALID OR RECOGNIZED IN THIS STATE.The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. Article 14 of the North Carolina Constitution is amended by adding the following new section:“Sec. 6. Marriage.
Marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.”SECTION 2. The amendment set out in Section 1 of this act shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the State at the statewide general election on November 6, 2012, which election shall be conducted under the laws then governing elections in the State. Ballots, voting systems, or both may be used in accordance with Chapter 163 of the General Statutes. The question to be used in the voting systems and ballots shall be:
“[ ] FOR [ ] AGAINST
Constitutional amendment to provide that marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.”
SECTION 3. If a majority of votes cast on the question are in favor of the amendment set out in Section 1 of this act, the State Board of Elections shall certify the amendment to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall enroll the amendment so certified among the permanent records of that office.
SECTION 4. The amendment set out in Section 1 of this act becomes effective January 1, 2013.
SECTION 5. This act is effective when it becomes law.
Our Fierce Advocate surely doesn’t want to deal with this mess, nor does the party when they come to celebrate the President’s re-election bid. The chair of the NC Dem Party, David Parker, is strongly opposed to such an amendment, and prior to his election he discussed it here on the Blend during a liveblog.
David Parker: The Marriage Amendment is coming to a voting place near you all too soon. This Radical Right ploy is designed to activate their base, agitate their contributors and GOTV….
I would want to get folks to care enough about these issues to be on a blog such as this to help formulate specfics — which is why I am calling for an LGBT Caucus in NC (we need to parallel every DNC Caucus here in NC)
Part of why the Democratic Party lost touch with the electorate is that it failed to communicate its core values – including personal dignity. Elected officials have to talk about values to get voters out to vote — that is why, I think, turnout was down this last election — especially among young voters…
If you live in NC, it’s time to write your Senator and politely ask that they not co-sponsor this potential stain on our state constitution.
And if you’re inside or outside of NC, it’s time to dig up the dirt since the NC bigots (and enablers, since Dems who aren’t willing to speak out against it are just as bad) apparently want to go there. I know we have a lots of little birdies willing to sing sweet information into my ears.
19 Comments
More power to youHowever, I believe you will find North Carolina in the same boat as we are here in Tennessee.
You know it just sort of occurred to meDemocrats failure to engage this topic is part of why it works as a GOTV strategy. Think about it.
GOP tells their base of the dire consequences that will befall the world if we don’t pass one more bill keeping homo down.
But, more often than not, it’s the rare Democrat that actually engages back. Like Obama, too many try to walk some mealy compromise or something and hope they can count on their voters showing up FOR THEM. And, oh yeah, pssst, vote against the marriage amendment. I mean, if they weren’t so afraid to engage, it might be good for both us and their candidacy.
I am glad your party chair is engage. Hopefully he’ll provide good leadership.
*sighs* And yet another state chases gay marriage while leaving trans rights in the dust.
And before anyone points it out……yes, I know this is the fundies putting up an anti-marriage bill, not Gay Inc putting up a pro-marriage bill. That is a meaningless distinction; they’re doing it because they have eyes to see that marriage has become the “end all, be all”.
Desiree, no thread jacking pleaseIf you have something to say about the subject of this diary, we welcome your thoughts. But please take off-topic discussion to an open thread or to a diary dedicated to the subject you wish to discuss. Like all PHB commenters, you are welcome to write your own diaries on the subjects of your choosing.
I disagreeWe’re trying to stop something bad, it happens to affect gay and lesbian couples. That does not = ignoring trans issues. In fact there is an anti-discrimination (or state ENDA) bill that is trans-inclusive that will be filed. Unfortunately it has zero chance of going anywhere with the GOP controlling both houses.
I think it’s a tired (and unhelpful) assumption to think that anything not specifically trans-related is somehow a slap in the face by LGBs. I agree that marriage isn’t the be-all and end-all, but the NCGOP shoved this issue onto the table. I’d much rather see the state ENDA pass since my wife can be fired for being out, but we’re sadly going to have to wait for the feds to do it; NC won’t.
This is a trans issue alsoAnd while gay inc may throw us under the bus a lot, it means they are blinded to the advantages we can bring to the issue. They are losing an opportunity or weapon by being blinded by their own shortsightedness.
And from my viewpoint, the best use of TG is a visual one, pictues (and video) showing same sex couples showing up to get a marriage license and having it issued because one of the couple is trans and has not had a birth certificate change either because the state (where the trans person was born) doesn’t allow changes or because the trans person has not officially applied yet for a change (so they can get married).
There are other ways a trans couple can make a farce of the proposed amendment if you just think outside the box.
Deanna
Fighting to winPam, I’m glad to see you calling for the hypocrites to be outed — the same thing Bil Browning is doing in Indiana, and I think it’s a tactic that should be adopted by our groups nation-wide.
To those who have moral qualms about outing politicians — these people are using our sexuality against us. It’s payback time.
Thanks for knowing NOTHING about the status of LGBT rights in NCLast month, trans-inclusive language was added to hospital protections in NC
http://equalitync.org/news1/en…
NC’s bullying law is inclusive of SO and GI. It was the primary legislative focus of much of the organized statewide movement for the past 2 legislative sessions.
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/…
Last year after months of bureaucratic shuffling, the UNC system finally enacted a campus code of conduct that is inclusive of SO and GI. I was one of the few people to speak at a public hearing when it was being considered.
However, NC has NO employment non-discrimination laws for SO or GI. In fact, our labor protections generally are pretty weak (which is just the way business likes it).
NC’s crimes against nature law is still on the books.
But I know some trans folks who are married and living in NC. Some have even gotten divorces in NC!
I’m beyond sick of this argument that somehow we can’t work on relationship recognition and other stuff too — whether employment non-discrimination, gender markers, HIV funding, CAN reform, hospital visitation, or just plain fighting bad legislation when bigots control the levers of power.
We have in the past, and we can in the future.
We’ve fought an amendment for 8 years in NC and still passed a law with the words “gender identity” in it before the federal Congress did. So kindly STFU about what’s taking a back seat in NC and what isn’t.
By the by, I got my NC-based employer (of less than 50 employees) to add SO and GI to their non-discrimination policy and harassment policy years ago. Somehow, they still don’t offer partner benefits or other relationship recognition. Amazing how that works, eh?
“Forrester is lobbing this bomb into the NCGA for the seventh time”And the difference this time is who controls the General Assembly.
Say what you will about national democrats, but in NC the democrats in the past 2 years they passed a Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity inclusive anti-bullying bill (beating mean much more “liberal” states to it).
We passed a (somewhat) comprehensive sex ed bill.
We kept the state as the only one in the southeast as a state without a constitutional marriage discrimination amendment.
And now the Dems have a party chair very openly pro-LGBT equality who is calling for the creation of an LGBT caucus.
Overall this may not seem like a lot of progress compared to some New England and west coast states, but it is a lot for the south. And at the very least the Dems being in power was a stop gap for preventing new anti-LGBT legislation even if we weren’t getting pro-LGBT legislation that often.
While I think the Dems have been better than the GOP, I think the main institution fighting this on the ground will be spear headed by Equality NC which put together a constituent lobbying day of action to get people talking to their elected officials directly. And to their credit they focused on a variety of issues: preventing this marriage discrimination bill, laying more groundwork for an anti-discrimination effort for employment & housing (an issue they’ve been working on for a while, I remember getting ppl to sign a statewide pro-ENDA petition at NC Pride back 09), and preventing the defunding of hiv/aids prevention/care funds, and so forth.
Beware of National $$$ for AmendmentGiven that the Democrats have chosen to hold their convention in Charlotte next summer, you can bet there will be lots of national GOP and religious right money working to get this through the General Assembly now and to make it a big deal next summer — all to pressure Obama into either coming out firmly (1) against marriage (and thereby alienating an ever-growing chunk of the Democratic base — straight as well as gay — that supports equality) or (2) as a marriage equality supporter (which is unlikely, given that Obama still seems to think he can get some evangelicals to vote for him if he’s just wimpy enough on choice and equality).
It won’t be pretty.
Domestic – legal – unions? What does he mean?With a Forrester like that, it’s a wonder there are any trees left. So, let’s see, the legislation would call for a 2012 statewide general vote on the question on whether to add a Section 6 to Article 14 of the NC Constitution, that would state:
Let’s see.
“Domestic” when used in legalese is a differentiation between an entity formed within the state, and an entity formed in another state, or country. A “domestic corporation” in NC whould be one incorporated there, while a “foreign corporation”would be one formed unde the laws of another state, or of the United States, while an “alien corporation” is one formed in another country.
“Legal” in context, would appear to mean sanctioned by the state.
“Union” is a term used to describe groups of workers who join together in solidarity for the purpose of collective bargaining with their employers.
So, North Carolina, a state that already frowns on collective bargaining (one of the reasons it is one of the bottom five states in quality of education is that even teachers are not allowed to have a union that is legal under NC state law), now seems to want to recognize domestic unions that are composed of a heterosexual married couple.
That does not seem to be a big improvement in the state’s labor laws – but perhaps it might work for straight married couples who are employed in a “mom & pop” business, but don’t own the business. If this constitutional amendment is approved, these couples (there must be a lot of them in NC if this august Senator thinks it is such an important issue) will be able to collectively bargain with their employer. Unfortunately, other unions will be constitutionally forbidden.
On the other hand, perhaps it is only “domestic” unions that will be so limited, while foreign and alien legal unions will be perfectly okay to bargain away – there does not seem to be any prohibition on membership, just that it be an out-of-state union. Perhaps this will be an opportunity for unionizing activity from outside the state, as long as no “locals” are formed. Perhaps the Senator wants no home-grown unions, just the AFL-CIO and the Teamsters, provided they are foreign unions. Perhaps it could be a way for the AFT to bargain on behalf of North Carolina’s hard working underpaid teachers, though I guess it will be labor representatives from out of state who will be required to handle the negotiations.
Hmmm. Wait, you mean that “legal union” does not have anything to do with collective bargaining? I see. You mean that the Senator means “civil union?” as in a second-class non-marriage marriage format? But that seems to be contradictory since marriage is different from a civil union, even if we get told that they are supposed to be the same kind of thing. And anyway, why would they use the word “domestic?” Do they mean that foreign and alien non-straight civil unions will be recognized in North Carolina? The amendment does say “valid or recognized” but that refers only to domestic legal, err, civil, unions, and not to foreign or alien ones, which perhaps, if this amendment is approved, would mean that the NC DOMA will no longer be effective. That might be somewhat welcome – but I guess the Senator wants to make sure that wedding businesses in other states will do better that the ones in North Carolina. I guess the Senator does not like local florists and caterers. Perhaps he has a vendetta against local bakers of wedding cakes.
Wait again – maybe he means that North Carolina will only recognize “domestic” legal unions between a man and a woman. That would have an opposite effect, right? That would mean that out of state heterosexual married couples, those with a “foreign or alien marriage (legal union)” who move to, or are even just passing through, the state on I-95 on their way to Florida or to New York, will have to get married in North Carolina for that state to recognize their union as a “domestic” legal union. (And of course, the “domestic” kind would be only for straights.)
So – does it mean that out of state same sex couples will do better? (That would be smething like New York, which recognized out of state gender-neutral marriages but not domestic ones); or does North Carolina want to chip a little further at the idea of “full faith and credit” to the acts of other states. If the latter, could this be a first move toward another secession? Let’s face it, it has been 150 years, maybe they might succeed this time.
You’ve hit on the key hereThe language of the amendment is problematic in many ways.
This is a civil union amendment, not just a “marriage amendment”
Anyone supporting this amendment is opposing civil unions, and I don’t think it’s really grasped by the political class — or perhaps the LGBT movement — that a majority of the general public approves of civil unions.
Remember the NOM protest?How many of us were there against how little of them were there?
It’s like the legislators never cared.
What I further don’t understand is how these people can think that they can blatantly deny/ignore the rights granted to others in separate sates.
It’s been a common thing across the nation that if someone is married in another state, then they would recognize that.
What this is is not unlike what happened in the slavery issue days where the issue was up to the state. It really is, in it’s motive and ambitions, trying to segregate the country.
If you’re LGBT you move to this state. Then we’ll call them the ‘queer states’. I’m sorry you want benefits for your partner? You should have moved to one of those queer states.
I’d hate to be beating the slippery slope drum, but it seems that is how things really are going.
contacting repsAlright, I’ve left a polite message for Rick Gunn, expressing my disappointment.
It’s only fair, I think, to give the man a chance.
I will follow up tomorrow.
Anybody else given their reps a call?
sent both an email and a callto Jean Preston. I’m very disappointed she co sponsored this bill.. But she’s from coastal NC which is where there’s a lot of religious influence. New Bern just isn’t big enough of a town/city to have a lot of lgbt people. I also emailed Senator Vaughan for guilford county, since I’m in greensboro for college. I emailed Forrester but It wasn’t exactly polite (no cursing, but pretty angry in tone). I just wish that a lot of people weren’t apathetic to LGBT civil rights infringements.
So Is it time to organize Protests/rallieswhen we start these, I say we should hold one every other month in Raleigh around noon time in Front of the General Assembly building..
the letters/email campaign in many area are not going to work.. we need to come out in force we need to whole community
ExactlyWe have a weapon in our arsenal that isn’t being used. Why not?
You’re right about the numbers (a few pics I took)US
vs NOM (that bussed into NC on a national tour)
I think that is somewhat right. Dems ranged from a few who are really good allies, most who are neutral and wouldn’t make things worse or better (save for aids funding/anti-bullying law), and a couple bad ones. And the GOP a few neutrals, and most who are the bad ones.
We won the day with numbers at the protest and counter protest, but we lost at the polls numberswise on election day.
Also, kudos to Equality NC which has been there for the fight every step of the way, from their recent lobbying day of action to these & more:
Counter Nom:
NC Pride 2010: