NC Amendment One - Gay Marriage Pro or Con?

[Riotgear]

Exactly.

[Tammy75]

This *amendment* is nothing but a tax waster.


This amendment bars the state from recognizing any legal domestic union other than marriage, including partnerships between unmarried men and women.

I have been in a very happy long term relationship with my *Other Half* for over 7 yrs. I don't want to legally tie myself to anyone ever again nor does he. However according to this crappy *whatever you call it* thing, we are horrid horrid people. We pay our bills, pay our taxes and go on. We call each other husband and wife because at our age, 44 yrs old, we get noses turned down on us more often than not. However I bet pennies to dollars we are more happy and healthy mentally than those Bible thumpers that tell us we are wrong and sinners and should not be allowed to live like we are.

As long as I am not doing anything illegial, the government needs to stop wasting tax payers money and stay out of not just my womb but also my bedroom! Spend the money where it should be used---on getting our backwards ass country out of this recession!

[HairOfTheDog]

The vote on NC's Amendment 1 (to ban gay marriage) takes place on May 8^th. Last weekend, Fayetteville Baptist pastor, Sean Harris, preached the following in his sermon.

"The second you see your son dropping that limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist," Harris said in the Sunday sermon. "Man up. Give him a good punch." "You’re not going to act like that," the pastor advised parents to tell their children. "You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male.”

When this was first released to the media, he issued an apology stating that he meant no offense to the LGBT community and he wished that he'd "scripted" his sermon. Then, he said in an interview with the local paper that he was only joking (pretty darn funny stuff, for sure). Backpedaling, discrimination, and promoting violence in the name of God. Amen.

I hope the Amendment is defeated; early poll results from different media sources are inconsistent. Interesting to see how this one turns out.

[ZEROSPHERES]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkYp60Hf4...r_embedded

[shitstorm]

I can't imagine having a long term partner in the hospital and not being allowed to see them because I wasn't "family"

I got to see this scenario first hand. I know a gay couple who were married, a vet & a trainer, both females, the vet became sick & was hospitalized and while she lay dying her spouse wasn't allowed to be with her because her wife's family were in control and they wouldn't allow it, they didn't allow her in the hospital room, they didn't allow her to help plan the funeral & they tried to take away the home they bought together. It was disgusting & uncalled for and happened because they couldn't deal with the fact their loved one was gay. It was a horror.

Gays can marry when they want, where they want but often times, as in this particular case, their marriage is not recognized, it's not legal. I have no problem whatsoever with them being allowed to have all the benefits male/female marriages are allowed.

^^THIS

The same thing could happen to a heterosexual couple who aren't married. Marriage is a legal protection and mainly about property rights. All couples should have these rights. I would be cool with marriage being a term applied to man & woman and calling gay partnerships civil unions. It's about the protections.

[Tammy75]

I can't imagine having a long term partner in the hospital and not being allowed to see them because I wasn't "family"

I got to see this scenario first hand. I know a gay couple who were married, a vet & a trainer, both females, the vet became sick & was hospitalized and while she lay dying her spouse wasn't allowed to be with her because her wife's family were in control and they wouldn't allow it, they didn't allow her in the hospital room, they didn't allow her to help plan the funeral & they tried to take away the home they bought together. It was disgusting & uncalled for and happened because they couldn't deal with the fact their loved one was gay. It was a horror.

Gays can marry when they want, where they want but often times, as in this particular case, their marriage is not recognized, it's not legal. I have no problem whatsoever with them being allowed to have all the benefits male/female marriages are allowed.

^^THIS

The same thing could happen to a heterosexual couple who aren't married. Marriage is a legal protection and mainly about property rights. All couples should have these rights. I would be cool with marriage being a term applied to man & woman and calling gay partnerships civil unions. It's about the protections.

I have POA with my other half but who is to say a family member won't allow me this if something happens?

[shitstorm]

Good question, Tammy. Mr Shitstorm and I are not married, either, though we've been together since '94. Because of the way our system is set up, we (people like you, me) need to be married to be fully protected. I don't like the idea of getting married for those kinds of reasons but it really is necessary.

[HairOfTheDog]

Damn, I'm extremely disappointed for gay couples and unmarried long-term couples in North Carolina. Amendment 1 passed today. One more for Dick and the religious conservatives.
===================================================

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman, becoming the latest state to effectively slam the door shut on same-sex marriages.

With 35 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday, unofficial returns showed the amendment passing with about 58 percent of the vote to 42 percent against. North Carolina is the 30^th state to adopt such a ban on gay marriage.

"I think it sends a message to the rest of the country that marriage is between one man and one woman," Fitzgerald said at a celebration Tuesday night where supporters could have their photo taken beside a seven-layer white wedding cake. "The whole point is simply that you don't rewrite the nature of God's design based on the demands of a group of adults," she said.

In the final days before the vote, members of President Barack Obama's cabinet expressed support for gay marriage and former President Bill Clinton recorded phone messages urging voters to oppose the amendment.

Supporters of the amendment responded with marches, television ads and speeches, including one by Jay Bakker, son of late televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. The Rev. Billy Graham was featured in full-page newspaper ads backing the amendment.

North Carolina law already bans gay marriage, but an amendment effectively seals the door on same-sex marriages.

The amendment also goes beyond state law by voiding other types of domestic unions from carrying legal status, which opponents warn could disrupt protection orders for unmarried couples.

The campaign manager for the group that opposed the amendment said the nation watched North Carolina on Tuesday night, wondering how the anti-forces came through. "I am happy to say that we are stronger for it; we are better for it; our voices are louder now," said Jeremy Kennedy of Protect All NC Families. "We have courage like we never had before, and we have strength to continue on."

Supporters had run their own ad campaigns and church leaders urged Sunday congregations to vote for the amendment. The Rev. Billy Graham, who at 93 remains influential even though his last crusade was in 2005, was featured in full-page newspaper ads supporting the amendment.

Both sides spent a combined $3 million on their campaigns.

Six states – all in the Northeast except Iowa – and the District of Columbia allow same sex marriages. In addition, two other states have laws that are not yet in effect and may be subject to referendums

The North Carolina amendment was placed on the ballot after Republicans took over control of the state Legislature after the 2010 elections, a role the GOP hadn't enjoyed for 140 years.

Joe Easterling, who described himself as a devout Christian, voted for the amendment at a polling place in Wake Forest. "I know that some people may argue that the Bible may not necessarily be applicable, or it should not be applicable, on such policy matters. But even looking at nature itself, procreation is impossible without a man and a woman. And because of those things, I think it is important that the state of North Carolina's laws are compatible with the laws of nature but, more importantly, with the laws of God."

Linda Toanone, who voted against the amendment, said people are born gay and it is not their choice. "We think everybody should have the same rights as everyone else. If you're gay, lesbian, straight – whatever," she said.

North Carolina is the latest presidential swing state to weigh in on gay marriage. Florida, Virginia and Ohio all have constitutional amendments against gay marriage, and Obama's election-year vagueness on gay marriage has come under fresh scrutiny.

Obama, who supports most gay rights, has stopped short of backing gay marriage. Without clarification, he's said for the past year and a half that his personal views on the matter are "evolving."

Education Secretary Arne Duncan broke ranks with the White House on Monday, stating his unequivocal support for same-sex marriage one day after Vice President Joe Biden said he is "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex married couples getting the same rights at heterosexual married couples.

One fault line that could determine the result is generational. Older voters, who tend to be more reliable voters, were expected to back the amendment.

State House Speaker Thom Tillis, a Republican from a Charlotte suburb, said earlier in the day that even if the amendment passed, it would be reversed as today's young adults age – within 20 years. "It's a generational issue," Tillis told a student group at North Carolina State University in March about the amendment he supports.

"Also, that amendment is against women, I believe, because also underneath the amendment, other laws are saying that people who aren't married at all, they can't file for domestic abuse cases, if they're living with their significant other. Which is wrong," Toanone said.

In North Carolina, more than 500,000 voters had cast their ballot before Tuesday, which was more than the 2008 primary when Obama and Hillary Clinton were fighting for the Democratic presidential nomination. Both sides said that bodes well for them.
___

[IMaDick]

Good bye lugar.

It's about time 40 frickin years of that mole.

[HairOfTheDog]

Good bye lugar.

It's about time 40 frickin years of that mole.

Well, he is 80 years old. Probably time for someone new. Looks like the Tea Party found the man to be "too moderate". Damn conservatives running amok!

[shitstorm]

I'll bet their are genuinely good people who just can't wrap their brains around marriage being anything than between a man and a woman. After all, it's ALWAYS been that way. I've heard people who oppose gay marriage (my 90 year old mother) also say that they think gay couples are entitled to the same property rights as married male-female couples. It's the institution of marriage, traditionally, that they can't see being between people of the same sex. For people like my mom, it's like saying black is white or calling your father your mother. I really feel it was a mistake to press the issue of marriage v. civil unions and property rights. Once marriage became the issue (i'm talking nationwide and through the duration of this movement), people opposed to gay marriage began to see civil union in the same light. Had marriage never been mentioned, I think things would have gone differently - maybe not in NC but in other places. Tactical error on the part of the gay community, IMO.

[HairOfTheDog]

I'll bet their are genuinely good people who just can't wrap their brains around marriage being anything than between a man and a woman. After all, it's ALWAYS been that way. I've heard people who oppose gay marriage (my 90 year old mother) also say that they think gay couples are entitled to the same property rights as married male-female couples. It's the institution of marriage, traditionally, that they can't see being between people of the same sex. For people like my mom, it's like saying black is white or calling your father your mother. I really feel it was a mistake to press the issue of marriage v. civil unions and property rights. Once marriage became the issue (i'm talking nationwide and through the duration of this movement), people opposed to gay marriage began to see civil union in the same light. Had marriage never been mentioned, I think things would have gone differently - maybe not in NC but in other places. Tactical error on the part of the gay community, IMO.

I see your point. I think it really depends on what the gay community was striving for. If it was simply to ensure property rights and other practical protections, you may be right in them having overshot. However, if they were seeking a recognition of true equality and the right to marry just like couples of the opposite sex, perhaps they were willing to take more risk when it comes to the practical protections and aim higher, knowing and willing to accept that they might well lose this battle. Sometimes a loss can be tactical in itself, imo.

Either way, it wasn't a landslide and the discussion surrounding this amendment got a lot of public exposure even outside of NC (for both sides). And the beat goes on, state by state...

[Disciple]

yes I would.

If you are attracted to the same sex you are gay.

If you are attracted to a child of the same sex you are a gay pedophile.

The operative word here being pedophile.

[IMaDick]

yes I would.

If you are attracted to the same sex you are gay.

If you are attracted to a child of the same sex you are a gay pedophile.

The operative word here being pedophile.

Yeah let's not have a complete description let's avoid anything that might offend a a gay pedo.

[Disciple]

Homosexuality has been around forever and resisted all attempts to stamp it out.

I think the belief that it is a lifestyle "choice" is pretty well refuted when you ask yourself who would "choose" this lifestyle, given the prejudice, harassment, assaults and even murder that that openly gay people suffer.

It is certainly none of the Federal Government's business. That was the second statement Obama made. It should have been the first.

I believe the fact that some States allow same sex marriages will eventually lead to the downfall of laws like this that prohibit them.

Perhaps gay and lesbian couples from States that prohibit same sex marriages should get married where they can, then start Federal Civil Rights suits against their States, claiming that State action has infringed on their rights as citizens of the United States.

No Federal Man/Woman Constitutional Amendment will EVER pass.

In China, you can't do something unless the law says you can.

In America, you can (and should be able to) do something unless the law says you can't.

Just a matter of time.

[Duchess]

Yeah let's not have a complete description let's avoid anything that might offend a a gay pedo.

Not only is there no connection between being gay and being a pedophile, but actually there's no such thing as a gay pedophile. There's no such thing as a straight pedophile either. You're either gay or you're a pedophile. You're not both.

[IMaDick]

Pedophilia has been around forever, can't we all just get along? Not!!!

[Disciple]

yes I would.

If you are attracted to the same sex you are gay.

If you are attracted to a child of the same sex you are a gay pedophile.

The operative word here being pedophile.

Yeah let's not have a complete description let's avoid anything that might offend a a gay pedo.

It almost sounds as though you are arguing that heterosexual pedophiles are less offensive than same sex pedophiles.

[IMaDick]

Yeah let's not have a complete description let's avoid anything that might offend a a gay pedo.

Not only is there no connection between being gay and being a pedophile, but actually there's no such thing as a gay pedophile. There's no such thing as a straight pedophile either. You're either gay or you're a pedophile. You're not both.

NAMBLA disagrees with you.

[Ma Huang Sor]

Yeah let's not have a complete description let's avoid anything that might offend a a gay pedo.

Pedophilia has been around forever, can't we all just get along? Not!!!

These posts made me LOL, as well as the one above me. Your rampant homophobia is pretty funny.