One Man. One Woman. Thats Marriage?

Originally posted on Amplify: http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/dandaman6007/2009/5/14/NCmarriage

One man. One woman. That’s marriage.

This is the tagline of the conservative North Carolina organization called NC4marrige. They are trying to pass the Defense of Marriage Act, which would protect marriage under the state constitution, making it harder to legalize same-sex marriage in the future. North Carolina is the only southern state that doesn’t have a constitutional same-sex marriage ban in place, which makes it a target for conservative activists and same-sex marriage advocates alike. Basically, these groups tell their supporters that North Carolina could become the next state to legalize gay marriage unless it becomes banned under the constitution.

Advocates for Youth opposes the bill, saying:

This Marriage Discrimination Amendment would further institutionalize discrimination towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth. North Carolina currently receives an "F" on School Safety for LGBTQ youth according to GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. An estimated 10 percent of all young people in North Carolina are LGBTQ, and 84 percent of youth in this state have heard homophobic remarks in our schools. More than 70 percent report that their peers are frequently bullied because of sexual orientation or gender expression.

The Defense of Marriage Act would take us a step backward towards making North Carolina a safe space for LGBTQ people, and we must ensure that this bill does not become law.
 

People can send a letter to their state Representative and Senator asking them to vote No on this bill.

NC4Marrige and the North Carolina Family Policy Council are the two largest groups trying to pass the Defense of Marriage Act, and they say some really scary things. On the NC Family Policy website, they claim:

"Homosexual relationships are harmful."

"Many people who previously had homosexual relationships have now renounced that behavior and married persons of the opposite sex."

"Supposed “homosexuals” have, in fact, had perfectly functional heterosexual marriages."

"Children raised by homo-sexuals are at much greater risk of gender dissatisfaction, gender confusion, suicide, long-term depression, mood disorders, bipolar disorders, sexual promiscuity, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases."

They go on to say more crazy, homophobic things, like allowing marriage between a pedophile and a child or a necrophile and a dead person would be the same as allowing people of the same sex to marry.

NC4Marrige put out this creepy video promoting their “Defense or Marriage" bill"



It goes without saying that these groups are extremely homophobic, and they promote hate and fear of the GLBTQ community. They seem to only cater to a certain demographic: white men over the age of 50 (which just so happened to be the only kind of people at their rally at the state legislature a few months ago).  These people DO NOT reflect the views of most people in North Carolina.

We can achieve marriage equality here, and we will. There is a lot of work to do, one of the most important things we need to to is to talk to the people who have read all the material put out by the North Carolina Family Policy Council and get them to understand that gay marriage wont hurt their heterosexual lifestyle, and that there is nothing to fear.

There is also a lot of political work that needs to be done, and the first step is making sure that the Defense of Marriage act does not pass. If you live in North Carolina, click here to send a letter to your state senator and representative about this issue. You can also look them up and give them a call, telling them to stand up against discrimination and vote NO on the Defense of Marriage act. The more voices we have on this issue, the more progress we will make.