Welcome to O-Pinion. I'm Associate Editor Fannie Flono, your host today.
Opposition to Amendment One, the N.C. constitutional amendment on the May 8 ballot that would define marriage between a man and a woman as the only legal domestic union, got the nod from a narrow majority of the Mecklenburg County commissioners last night. But polling still shows the amendment getting approved in next week's vote by a 14 point margin of 55-41.
But opposition to this unnecessary and problematic proposal is rising. According to Public Policy Polling, "opposition is rising slightly with Republicans, independents, and African Americans, from 17 percent to 21 percent with the GOP, from 43 percent to 46 percent with independents, and from 39 percent to 43 percent with black voters. Democrats on the whole are opposed by a 54-42 spread. Reports of strong youth turnout in parts of the state could be a good sign for opponents; voters under the age of 30 oppose the amendment by 26 points, while the elder age brackets all support it by spreads of nine to 24 points—though that is down from margins of 16 to 32 points last week."
The pollsters said the "good news" for the amendment’s opponents is that more voters are now aware of the amendment’s consequences. If all voters were informed of those consequences, the amendment would fail by a 38-46 margin. The bad news is that a significant number of people still aren't well-versed on the ramifications - that it would ban both civil unions and gay marriage, and could affect benefits and protections of heterosexual unmarried couples and their children. Many don't know that state law already prohibits same-sex marriage so this move is unnecessary to just preserve that view. It simply writes discrimination into the state constitution. And even one of the state's top Republican leaders, Thom Tillis, acknowledges that view won't stand the test of time.
Voters still have time to get educated about this troubling proposal, and vote it down.
In other statewide PPP polling, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton is surging in the North Carolina Democratic primary for Governor. He now leads with 36 percent fo 26 percent for Bob Etheridge, 5 percent for Bill Faison, 3 percent each for Gardenia Henley and Bruce Blackmon, and 2 percent for Gary Dunn.
Dalton has gone from 15 percent to 26 percent to 36 percent over the course of PPP's last three polls on the race. A poll by the Civitas Institute also found Dalton moving ahead. Pundits who had been predicting a runoff in this race now aren't too sure.
Put the gay thing aside for a moment. What is it that people have against marriage? One of the critiques of this law is that it would damage civil unions and couples who live together but are unmarried. Why don't they get married. Men and women should be expected to enter into a legal and financial investment if they are going to be in a relationship and live with one another. Why can't we talk about what marriage does to PROTECT women and children. For instance alimony, if you live with a man but aren't married and he picks up and leaves you are out in the cold with whatever he decided to leave you (nothing in most cases). As a man I blame MEN. Fellow men, when are we going to stand up, marry our girlfriends (instead of make concubines of them) and start respectable families based on a foundation of marriage, the vow that a man and woman make to stay together and love one another despite anything that may come in this life?
ReplyDeleteUnknown, perhaps you do not understand the definition of domestic union. Take for instance 80 year old granddad who find someone to live with, (since his lady passed), maybe a woman, maybe a man. They become best friends, but do not have a sexual or emotional relationship. They enjoy each others company. One of these persons could work and the other may not. The point of this is to describe to you a situation that could likely happen to you. If you found yourself in a situation like this, and find out that you can't get insurance because you're not recognized as your friends partner, would you be upset? I would, knowing that only married couples get these benefits. Understand now?
ReplyDeleteThe message from the host: Listen (you dumb-witted, weak-minded, Bible-kissing, grits-eating southern rednecks) people. The rising trend is to oppose Amendment One. Therefore it is time to abandon your own (stupid) opinion and follow the trend.
ReplyDeleteWhat is lost on people like Fannie Flono, is that outside of 485 and RTP, this is still North Carolina.
ReplyDeleteYes, Jesse Helms is long gone but for the most part folks from North Carolina have a pretty good sense that being gay "just ain't right".
Neither is shacking up, sex before marriage and drinking yourself silly.
They come to Charlotte, drive past strip clubs, and bars with barely dressed 20 something girls, see gay men and women walking hand and hand, gangs of kids just hanging out Uptown and they are agasp.
So they have drawn the line in the sand. By voting for Admendment One, they have offered their voice. Maybe one day after all the Christians have fallen away, the LGBT crowd will get do it their way.
But for now, since we still live in a majority rules state marriage will be the only civil union.
Now that we got this out of the way how about we talk about something that concerns all of us, like the skyhigh gas tax this state burdens us with, isn't that a little more important than a couple of gay men being able to marry?
Amendment One loses this time, North Carolina is moving steadily toward rejecting bigotry. We now recognize that when our elected leaders talk about sanctity of marriage, they are the ones most likely having an affair--see, e.g., Tom Tillis' office, where despite their tireless campaigning for Amendment 1, two staffers have resigned in the last week for having affairs. Or NC men of the cloth who encourage beating the homosexuality out of children; that's what Jesus would do, right?
ReplyDeleteIn the end, gays don't cheapen the sanctity of marriage; hypocrites do.
Of course we can generalize the entire state of NC as the poster above tries to do. You're no different than the bigots. I am against amendment 1, a North Carolina native and, I guarantee, I'm more educated than you.
ReplyDeleteSo here is the deal...I read a sign in Newland, NC and it posted:
ReplyDelete"God married Adam and Eve, Not Adam and Steve."
Last I checked God banished Adam and Eve from Eden (according to some fabricated story). If that was so, did God divorce them upon banishment? If "GOD" loves everyone then the argument about Gay Marriage is not valid. Jesus never judged anyone based upon sexual orientation and did not initiate Christianity, that happen many years after Jesus died. So who gets to make the rules? Oh, by the way, marriage is a religious sacrament and not a governmental policy so keep this OUT of the state. US Constitution--separate church and state. Come on people, keep your scriptures in the church where they belong. OMG....