Many more letters rolling in now that the N.C. House and Senate have voted to let the public decide whether a ban on same-sex marriage should be written into the state constitution. Here are 16 new ones, including a few, finally, that are pro-amendment. (No, conspiracy theorists, we haven't just been keeping the pro-amendment letters to ourselves. We hadn't gotten any.) Some of these you will see in print over the next few days.
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We humans have the ability to reason; sometimes we reason wisely, sometimes foolishly.
God loves us – sinners and saints alike – but His love for us should never be used as an excuse to break His commandments or to support sinful behaviors.
Scientists don’t agree about homosexual cause or reason, but Scripture is clear.
Scripture says it is a sin. It isn’t always easy to repent when a sin becomes our master, but repentance is possible and necessary to live with God. Jesus never accepted sin, even while loving the sinner. He taught faith in Him as the savior (Messiah), repentance of all sin and obedience to all of Heavenly Father’s commandments. We should choose religious leaders who will help guide us to be obedient to God’s commandments, not ones who treat God’s commandments as if they are a smorgasbord of suggestions to pick and choose from.
Marriage was established by God as a union between a man and a woman. We may re-define marriage as an union between two men, two women or something else. I hope not because then marriage will become a human made counterfeit to what God intended.
Kay Sundquist
Angier
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Today, while over 30 percent of children in 40 of 100 counties go to bed hungry, the N.C. Senate rubberstamped a bill that didn’t exist until 1:18 p.m. Monday. While 10 out of 100 adults in NC have no job, the Republican majority edited a nutrition bill to prevent public debate. This edited bill will not help feed hungry children. Rather than creating jobs, it signals progressive companies they are not welcome in NC.
This edited bill became the same-sex amendment bill. N.C. waited for the Bill of Rights before signing the U.S Constitution, but today, a few hours after introduction, this bill will encourage North Carolinians to add discrimination into the NC Constitution.
Why did the people responsible for writing laws, work so hard to abuse procedural loopholes to get around the law? To circumvent public debate and rallies planned in opposition to HB-777/SB-106?
So the General Assembly could adjourn in time for a Thom Tillis Wilmington fundraiser?
Regardless reason or how anybody feels about same-sex Marriage, one thing is clear: The citizens of NC were subjected to Blind Injustice. The people were blind to what was done and that is an injustice to all!
L.F. Eason
Cary
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While the economy is slowly falling apart around us, with unemployment and poverty at an all-time high, North Carolina legislators somehow to manage bring our focus onto the issue of gay marriage. It is disgusting our government is trying to promote bigotry through an amendment. And the response of GOP supporters is inappropriate.
I am a Democrat. I am an educator. I am a Christian. I am the sister, friend, and niece of homosexuals. But I am not a bigot.
I teach in low-income areas where children face inequities daily because of similar past hatreds. In school, it is pertinent to teach tolerance. Lessons are dedicated to not using sayings like “that’s gay,” because it is offensive. We teach students to remain fair, open-minded and to support their fellow classmates. Even though they may not agree with what another person does, it is not their place to judge.
We teach tolerance in order to avoid further centuries of hatred and bigotry. We teach tolerance in order to promote a future in which everyone is treated with fairness and seen as equals. We teach tolerance so it will grow.
Passing this amendment will only promote hatred for our current youth and future generations.
GOP, is this really the biggest issue to address at this point? Gay marriage is not your choice, and that’s great for you. But it is the choice for others. It is not your right to limit those freedoms of people with whom you do not agree. As my favorite advertisements say in the New York subway system, “Don’t like gay marriage? Don’t get gay married.” It has no effect on your long-term well-being.
Mary Clare Freeman
Raleigh
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Shame on the Democratic members of the N.C. House who agreed to put the so-called Defense of Marriage amendment on the May primary ballot. Since primary elections are notorious for low voter turnout, that means that a small minority of North Carolina voters could pass an amendment. If there is 20 percent turnout, 11 percent of registered voters could carry the day.
Passing constitutional amendments ought to require a majority of all registered voters.
Michael Cotter
Pittsboro
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I was unfortunate enough to watch the disgusting spectacle at the legislature Sept. 12 with the House Republicans (and 10 questionable Democrats) pushing to add a “Defense of Marriage” anti-gay-marriage bill to our state constitution.
Rep. Paul Stam stated that he is afraid that New Yorkers will move here and want the same rights they have in New York, and we had better protect ourselves and quickly! He disregarded the many concerns of others who questioned job losses, domestic violence issues, court challenges and the lack of necessity of this bill (it is already a law in North Carolina).
Stam seemed more concerned with making sure he had enough popcorn to stuff both cheeks with than valid constitutional issues. Maybe now he can work on that little job issue thingy for North Carolinians. I wish he would also pass a bill banning bagels. The New Yorkers are wanting those as well, and I am afeared for my biscuits!
Chuck Johnson
Raleigh
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The debate over so-called gay marriage is tiresome. The whole discussion is shaped by a rhetorical fraud.
There is no “right” to marriage. This is as true for heterosexuals as it is for homosexuals as witness the state’s intrinsic regulatory power to deny a marriage license short of certain conditions being met. Marriage licensing laws are a simple manifestation of thousands of years of human history, a constant premise of values based on eons of well-founded, well-constructed and laudable tradition.
Society has an inherent self-interest in promoting the propagation of its progeny. A broadly, socially sanctioned definition of marriage as between one man and one woman is the only way to promote the raising of healthy, productive citizens for the long-term survival of any society. Homosexual couples cannot produce children.
Whether every heterosexual couple can or will is beside the point. Civilized society requires standards to survive. One of those standards is to replenish the population.
Getting married is a privilege based in sacred love to, in essence, procure the future of the human race. Exerting this privilege on behalf of those who cannot contribute is not in the interest of a civil society intent on preserving itself.
Thomas Paul DeWitt
Garner
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I’d like to thank those seeking a constitutional amendment to prevent gay marriage. Since they have no – that’s no, as in “zero” – credible evidence to support their position, their only remaining authority is religious/biblical, which, as we know, is constitutionally enjoined from a role in civil law.
However, this opens the way for a court challenge in which the existence of God and the authorship/divine authority of Scripture would need to be proven. As neither of these is possible, this should remove religion from any legal social standing and give it a significant push toward its long overdue and richly deserved demise.
Martin Eagle, Ph.D.
Durham
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I am a high school student, and I am embarrassed to live in North Carolina right now. The decision of the N.C. Senate concerning gay marriage is a step backward and is completely inappropriate.
Times are changing. The majority of the people against gay marriage do not represent the youth of the state. We are the future, and the fact that most teenagers and young adults support gay marriage is a sign that legalizing it is moving forward.
One of the most treasured teachers at my high school is in a civil union with another woman, and last year’s homecoming queen is lesbian.
Younger generations do not have the same biases that older generations do, and it is time for the older generations to accept what is coming.
Hannah Farkas
Raleigh
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At the risk of being branded a “cold-blooded extremist,” I would like to state simply and clearly why it is important to amend the state’s constitution to reflect what is already state law.
The biblical ideal of marriage needs to be upheld as model and teacher. Sacrificial, servant leadership and loving submission may not be common in our world of betrayal, adultery and self interest, but it remains ideal. Only this context provides a legitimate place for sex.
A fire in the fireplace provides warmth, beauty and comfort. That same fire in the living room is a destructive force. Boundaries are essential.
This is not a small or limited view of sex, but an expansive view of marriage. I want to celebrate and strengthen marriage, not redefine it to fit our culture’s brokenness. Protecting the ideal of marriage allows our society to grow and move forward, not just wander as our fickle nature leads us.
Andy McClure
Raleigh
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Congratulations for a job well done!
A quick check of the Internet revealed the following about North Carolina: 46th in infant mortality; 34th in poverty; 23 percent of children in poverty; 1 of 5 states identified as having significantly higher than average household food insecurity; 39th in high school graduation rates; 40th in unemployment. At that point, I got discouraged from going further.
But, our values are safe from those gay folks! Let’s give our 19th century legislature a big round of applause!
Dick Wallace
Wake Forest
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I have to applaud the timing of the General Assembly in its vote to let voters decide the fate of gay marriage. One day after the 10th anniversary of the most hateful crime ever perpetrated on the American public, the General Assembly has effectively given residents the power to deny the rights of gay North Carolinians and make public the claim that they are less than human.
As an evangelical Christian (yes, there are some of us who do not parrot the party line of Republicans), what disturbs me most is the significant role that the church played in this debate. I have no doubt that countless monies will be raised under the name of Christianity to ensure that the good people of North Carolina legislate their intolerance. Yes, I know that “the Church” does not speak for all churches and all members of our faith. But the overwhelming silence of the majority of churches is no less damning than the spirited voices of a few Christian bigots.
I am ashamed of my state, and I am weary of hoping that Christianity will ever recognize that Jesus’ words of love and compassion are applicable to even those beyond our own selfish awareness.
Jeffrey Whicker
Cary
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After watching the debates and seeing the final vote to pass in both the House and Senate of the General Assembly, I am disgusted at our North Carolina lawmakers.
As a gay teenager at 17 years old, I know that if I choose to live in this state, the chances of my getting married are growing slimmer and slimmer. This homophobic mindset of so many in our state legislature must be abolished.
Did they consider for one moment the effect that this legislation will have on the LGBT youth community? Did they allow for the public to voice their concerns and opinions to them?
Our legislators should be protecting our rights, not limiting them by writing discrimination into our state constitution. They cannot claim to fight for all of their constituents if they continue to restrict the rights of a sector of our population. North Carolina has been put on the wrong side of history by this General Assembly and our legislature has blatantly sided with injustice.
Seth Keel
Raleigh
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The state is facing very serious problems, and our legislators respond with what? They want to spend their energy on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage? This is equivalent to an overmatched boxer refusing to answer the bell and, instead, requesting an easier opponent.
The economic crisis is a perfect opportunity for the new "leadership" to show what they've got – and this is the best they can do? And it's from the party that is against big government interfering with peoples' lives?
If Armageddon is on the way, it won't be because of gay marriage – it will be because our politicians sidestepped real problems and went looking for windmills to battle.
Grady Crumpler
Raleigh
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Years ago when my husband and I discussed potential retirement locations, he advocated North Carolina, and I refused because I didn't want to live among bigots. Five years ago, when we were ready to make a move, I relented because North Carolina appeared to be past its hateful legacy.
While I have loved the past three years here in Raleigh, if I had to make that decision again today I would hesitate because the NC legislature has shown me that discrimination is still king. Only this time it is pointed at gay rights, not civil rights. They can thump their chests and say that the Bible tells them so, but I am watching carefully to see whether the voters tell them so.
Because that will truly tell me whether North Carolina is taking a giant step back toward hate and fear and second-class citizenship or is instead ready to ensure that all its citizens are equal under the law.
Susan Bray
Raleigh
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We are living through a very interesting and difficult time as a country and as a state. There are serious issues that require serious and smart people to help develop solutions. Among the change to a world economy, the looming recession, unemployment, health care, educational gaps and military action abroad, there are plenty of issues to focus on and worry about. Our state is struggling with a huge budget deficit and therefore decreased services to so many that need so much.
Why then do the people we elect to represent us and help us develop solutions decide that banning gay marriage is something that requires focus at the moment? Is the concept of not having a vote on adding a ban to our state constitution that scary? Am I missing some huge struggle or evil doings? Are there not more pressing matters?
I believe there are several factors at work here: ignorance being at the top of the list. We've seen endless debates over gay marriage, abortion, panhandling on city streets, prayer in schools, but nothing substantive about unemployment, health care, educational excellence, etc. Politicians love this kind of foolishness because they can sit back and just keep the chatter going.
Then we have the right-wing Christian fundamentalists who mistakenly believe this country was conceived with Christian principles and should be Bible-based. Never mind that the main writers of the Constitution were Deists (an intellectual religion that sought to understand the world through reason, not blind faith) and also were painfully aware of the religious wars and prosecutions in Europe that evolved when kings decided what was to be the true religion. Unfortunately, most Americans are very ignorant about our country's history. I'm sure many still believe the silly story about George Washington and the cherry tree.
Of course, these are the same people who are self-centered and self-righteous and therefore see no need for government to help people in need, no need for Social Security, no need for Medicare, no need for aid to the poor and sick. Yet if they read their Bibles, they would find passage after passage about compassion, love of others and help for the poor and oppressed.
I understand that there will always be close-minded, ignorant and discriminatory people and that those people have a right to voice their opinion – but to allow them to make this issue something that takes precedence over truly pressing and important matters is not just sad, it’s unconscionable.
We should expect better of them and better from ourselves.
Michael Foerster
Raleigh
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As a black American male, I take umbrage at your editorial that proclaims the gay marriage ban to be a waste.
The ban has a legitimate purpose considering that Barack Obama is on the ballot for 2012, thus ensuring a large black turnout. The purpose of the bill is plain, to “turn out the vote.” Taking into consideration that the amendment to deny equal rights to homosexuals will also bring out a large number of people who hate Obama and gays with an equal passion, it'll level the playing field.
That a large number of black Americans are participating in the hatefest to deny others equality is ironic but true, but it is also an example of equal opportunity bigotry for all.
Finally knee-jerk hatred is a tried and true way to get the “right” candidate elected.
I don’t know what all the liberals are screaming about, if people are legitimately homophobic then shouldn’t they have the right to vote in a discriminatory, hateful and archaic law to support their prejudices?
We black people understand all too well the importance of not letting one of “them” marry our children! Say it loud: "We’re bigoted and proud."
Maloey E. Jones
Wake Forest
