North Carolina, our license plates read “First in Flight.” While, we are experiencing flight or would you rather I say fright. North Carolina has the wonderful amendment that went for a vote today. It is titled Amendment 1. Amendment 1 plans to add the Anti-gay marriage law into the state legislation. It plans to make sure that something that is already considered illegal in this state stays that way.
There are many people that I have spoke with about this bill, which are neither confirming nor denying the way they feel about the bill, but the say North Carolina government has the wrong priorities. They say that the time spent on this could have been better designated on more pressing issues.
Many North Carolina voters and voters from other states say that this is ridiculous. Instead of spending time and precious tax money on, whether or not to put in the law books that same sex couples cannot be wed, many feel that the time and money could be better spent on ways of improving the economy or creating new jobs, which would in turn be able to create more taxable income, and the government would have more tax money to spent on whatever they see fit.
During an interview with North Carolina resident and voter, Betty Teyssier, she stated that she felt people should be able to live how they please, but government should focus more of the economy than on whether or not two men or two women choose to marry.
Lewis Johnson, a voter and resident of North Carolina, said that he has no feelings either way pertaining to Amendment 1, but he would prefer the government work more at creating new jobs and helping to get people back to work without taking it away from educational funding.
While speaking with Tony Brown a registered voter of the state of North Carolina, he responded to the question of how he felt the outcome of this would affect North Carolina with, “If the amendment passes, it damages us as a state. Our reputation, our liberty, our conscience are all tarnished by this desperate attempt to turn back the clock. And if it succeeds (which seems likely) it will put our state on the wrong side of history. I’ll be ashamed.”
Brandy Parrish a writer and book reviewer in North Carolina responded that her feelings about Amendment 1 are, “I am a voter and I am leaning towards voting no. Yes, it at one time was in important amendment but now times are changing. You can no longer rule America by what is in the Bible, as it once was. Laws should be based on common sense and true problems we have in this country. It is not our place to tell people HOW to live, it is only our job to have in place laws to help keep ALL people SAFE and EQUAL. No chaos, but we know that nowhere is there no type of chaos, except the Garden of Eden, which no one has actually seen except two people.”
Bill Lazarus, university instructor and blogger from Florida, let it be known how he felt about this during an interview by saying “I am not from North Carolina, so will not be voting. I doubt that the southern states where religious conservatives dominate will approve same-sex marriages. The religious right is blissfully unaware that the biblical laws such as involving gays were designed for the society they were written in and are equally changeable to match new societal morality. There’s no reason to deny anyone legal rights or insist someone is not equal because of sexuality, which has no impact on anyone except the individual. The same canards used to attack gays were previously used against Africa-Americans and women. Such hate-filled diatribes have no place in American society nor do restrictions on anyone’s freedom. If North Carolina does approve same-sex marriage, it will reflect a sea change in societal thinking and, hopefully, defuse the debate. I doubt it will affect the presidential election. Anti-gay voters won’t support Obama anyway.”
No matter whether people are for or against same-sex marriages, there are more people wishing for the government to spend their time on other more important priorities. Whether those priorities are creating bills to protect funding that is used for schools, building back the economy, or creating new jobs, is up to the government. However, the government has chosen to try to pass Amendment 1 and forget the other issues.
