N.C. Senator Ellie Kinnaird's Newsletter

September 25, 2011 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Ellie Kinnaird

Greetings from the North Carolina Senate,

Last week the Legislature passed a bill to place a referendum on the March primary election ballot to approve or disapprove an amendment to the NC Constitution banning gay marriage. State law already outlaws gay marriage by declaring that marriage is only between a man and a woman and no marriage other than between a man and a woman from another state will be recognized in this state.

An argument was made that allowing gay people to marry will threaten heterosexual marriage. What really threatens marriage is poverty, mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, family stress, and other internal difficulties within a marriage, nothing to do with gay marriage.

Another argument was that without this amendment to the Constitution, polygamy will be allowed. That would be true if polygamy between heterosexuals were allowed, but polygamy was outlawed by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1878.

Like amendments to the U.S. Constitution that guarantee individual rights, our North Constitution also guarantees that those rights apply equally to all people. Echoing the clause of the U.S. 14th Amendment, Article I, Section 19 says, “no person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws . . . .” thus guaranteeing the equal protection of all of our laws. That is, if there is a law allowing two people to marry, then any two people must be able to marry under the law. For instance, a law that allows people with brown eyes to marry, but not people with blue eyes, violates the equal protection clause of both the U.S., and N.C. Constitutions. The law cannot discriminate between one group of people from another. This proposed amendment does just that.

One of the strongest objections to the bill was from the academic, research and business community. They pointed out that such a statement is a detriment to attracting the best, brightest and most creative people to our state. We received a letter from the co-founder of Facebook who is a native of North Carolina urging us to not pass the bill. Many businesses, in addition to hiring many gay and lesbian people, have benefits for domestic partners that might be jeopardized by the amendment.

North Carolina at one time outlawed marriage between black and white people. It outlawed black and white children attending school together, it had a poll tax and voter literacy test, and it didn’t ratify the right for women to vote until 1971. This was the time for greatness, but the legislature failed to rise up to that greatness. Some people argued that we are the only state in the southeast without such a constitutional amendment. I said good for us. Let us be a leader in the southeast and the nation. I remind people we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, not Bull Connor day. (For those who are too young to have lived through the civil rights days, Bull Connor was the Alabama sheriff who used water hoses and dogs against demonstrators.) All Democrats present voted against the bill. We are disappointed with our friends on the other side of the aisle who didn’t think this was right, but bowed to their Caucus. Without those votes, it would not have passed.

Every person has either a gay relative, a gay friend or colleague. But because of the fear of being socially rejected, or worse, those people may not let you know. If everyone realized that these are our family, or friends or our fellow workers, such discrimination would not exist.

Our Constitution guarantees individual rights, it should not be used to discriminate and deny rights to some people while granting those rights to others. It is an irony that this bill passed just before Constitution Week.

I received hundreds of emails, calls and letters about the bill. A few supported the amendment, but most of them vigorously opposed it. Thank you to all who let me now where you stood.

Interestingly, On Saturday, I participated in the Durham Gay Pride March which I have done for years. It is one of the largest of any type of parade in the state.

On the other end of the human spectrum, I often visit our many non-profits that serve our communities. I visited Volunteers for Youth and met and heard about the long-time relationship between their first mentor and youth who have become fast friends. Hundreds of children have benefited from such relationships who might have had a different path in life.

On Friday I visited the Human Rights Center in Abbey Court, under the leadership of Professor Judith Blau, home of many of our Latino/a community. It is a vibrant, safe place where children can meet after school and get help from UNC students for homework and enrichment. There are health fairs, a Girl Scout Troop, soccer, technology instruction, art classes, food from TABLE, a local volunteer organization that provides food for those in need, school supplies, liaison with lawyers on day labor rights and El Centro Hispano. And Saturday, I was the speaker at the annual Employees Banquet for Person Industries that provides vocational services to the developmentally disabled. The Banquet recognizes the workers from the facility who work all over the city and in the Recycling Plant and the many employers who so generously employ the workers. Some have even been able to become permanent workers at those sites.

We are fortunate to have such services and a community that cares.

Paid for by Ellie Kinnaird for Senate • Campaign Address: PO Box 668, Carrboro, NC 27510 • 919-918-3432
Legislative Office Address: Room 628 LOB, 300 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603 •