Proposed N.C. Ballot Initiative Targets Marriage, Civil Unions, Domestic Partnerships

A ballot initiative promoted by anti-gay groups in North Carolina would not only deny gay and lesbian families marriage if approved by voters; it would also remove civil unions and domestic partnerships from the realm of legal possibility in the state, GLBT site Q Notes reported on Sept. 4.

Democratic lawmakers had long protected the state's citizens from the sort of deeply divisive and demonizing rhetoric that accompanies such ballot initiatives. But the midterm elections brought a Republican majority to power, and the anti-gay amendment quickly gained ground.

The state already had a law on the books barring marriage between couples of the same gender. But anti-gay activists say that a court might find that law in violation of the state constitution unless the state's bedrock law is amended to enshrine anti-gay animus.

Such a court decision brought marriage to Massachusetts in 2004. In recent years, 31 states have amended their constitutions in a manner that deprives same-sex families of equal treatment before the law.

Anti-gay activists in North Carolina have attacked the GLBT civil rights movement just for asserting that equality before the law for gays and their families is a matter of civil equality.

"It's not about civil rights, and it's an insult to the civil rights movement to say so," Tami Fitzgerald, the head of the N.C. Values Coalition.

Fitzgerald's declaration was denounced by Alex Miller, who heads Equality North Carolina on an interim basis.

"Ms. Fitzgerald's inflammatory statements misrepresent the reality of support from leaders in the Civil Rights community in a broader effort to mislead lawmakers and divide the public," read a media release issued by Miller.

State Rep. Larry Hall, a Democrat and Executive Committee member with the NAACP in Durham, also dismissed Fitzgerald's claim.

"Tami Fitzgerald does not speak for the civil rights movement, its advocates or its organizations," Hall noted. "She and the groups for which she's worked have consistently fought against human and civil rights issues that disproportionately affect poor minority citizens, who even now endure greater suffering due to her efforts.

"This so-called 'marriage amendment' is just such a discriminatory attack on a minority of our fellow citizens. I oppose this amendment because it is morally wrong, totally unnecessary and damaging to our economy at the worst possible time."

The state's lawmakers are due to reconvene for a special session on Sept. 12. That session is devoted to proposed amendments to the North Carolina state constitution.

Speaker of the House Thom Tillis, a Republican, said that the amendment might get a hearing before the state's General Assembly, Q Notes reported.

Equality North Carolina has organized a rally against the amendment, slated to take place on Sept. 13.

"If my caucus and if the majority of the members in the House and Democrats choose to have that heard then I feel compelled as the leader to have it heard," said Tillis.

The amendment would not win approval with a simple majority, according to an Aug. 15 Associated Press article. Rather, the measure would need a three-fifths majority to advance.

But there may be reasons other than the question of whether gay and lesbian families should be denied legal recognition. The AP story noted that a political calculus weighing the benefits to Republican lawmakers come Election Day was also at work.

"Republicans hope a constitutional amendment on gay marriage would increase turnout of conservative voters in 2012 and boost their chances against Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue and President Barack Obama," the AP article reported.