Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbySeptember 13th, 2011
Reflecting the horrendous crisis which must be enveloping the state, the North Carolina Senate rushed through a proposed constitutional amendment to make same-sex marriage even more illegaler, barely twenty-four hours after the previously unseen bill made its debut in the lower house. The bill passed both houses with the required two-thirds three-fifths majority without public notice, debate or input.
State law already bans same-sex marriage, and the 30-16 vote in the Senate, voters will decide to enshrine discrimination in the state’s constitution, along with a wider constitutional ban on civil unions and domestic partnerships. The vote will take place during next May’s primary election. With a hotly contested GOP presidential primary and an uncontested Democratic field, the election will likely boost turnout for the amendment’s supporters, while also give an edge to social conservatives in the GOP primary.
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Ezam
September 13th, 2011
Is there a way to hurry the courts to finally put an end to all these discriminatory laws?
BlackDog
September 13th, 2011
If it’s already illegal in NC, what the fuck is the point of making it even more so?
What’s with the pissing contest to see who can make same sex marriage the most illegalest??
Doesn’t make much sense to me.
tristram
September 14th, 2011
We’re talking NORTH CAROLINA, for goodness’ sake. But I’ll refrain from posting the Gomer Pyle YouTube link of which I’m so fond.
JFE
September 14th, 2011
Um, how did it pass with two-thirds majority in the Senate when it passed 30-16?
Jim Burroway
September 14th, 2011
Sorry, that should have read three-fifths.
customartist
September 14th, 2011
With NC Unemployment at 10% Tea-Republicans work feverishly on opressing minorities RATHER THAN on Jobs creation?
The REAL test for North Carolina Economically will now lie with the people and just how they vote on this initiative.
Here is a nice list of NC Manufacturers to support or refrain from supporting depending on how this all resolves – *file for future reference
http://north-carolina.uscity.net/Manufacturers/
Theo
September 14th, 2011
“The vote will take place during next May’s primary election.”
Ouch. I did not know that. That absolutely means this will pass. With demographic changes in NC and with the amendment having been drafted very broadly to ban all domestic unions and with a favorable poll from PPP, I thought that it might be possible, if unlikely, that we could pull an upset. But if it is on a primary day, forget it. Write it off and save the money for ME and NC.
It is really appalling that it is permissible to amend the state constitution with a vote on a primary election day, when only a tiny fraction of the electorate will vote. So much for “let the people vote!”
The only positive thing about this development here is that we see the continuation of a pattern. The NC GOP concealed the vote as long as possible and disposed of the issue w/in 24 hourse and without any supportive speeches. In MN, the GOP passed the amendment during a night session with no speakers in support, and quickly left the building through a rear exit. In NY in 2009 and 2011, no GOP members of the senate or assembly spoke against gay marriage. This is not the way you behave if you are on the righteous side or the winning side.
Richard Rush
September 14th, 2011
customartist said, “With NC Unemployment at 10% Tea-Republicans work feverishly on oppressing minorities RATHER THAN on Jobs creation?”
I suspect they do view this as jobs creation legislation – in the sense that God will bless them with jobs for bashing the gays. Lots of people really are that stupid.
cd
September 17th, 2011
Normal statutes can be repealed by the state legislature and governor. A state constitutional amendment has to be repealed via both the state legislature and a popular referendum.
Having a ban in the form of a state constitutional amendment is also kinda worth a little more in federal lawsuits especially at the US Supreme Court.
It’s also just the Religious Right being asshats. It might take five more years to repeal or get overturn of a SCA than a simple statute.
When looking at these things I remember William Sherman describing Southern state legislatures to Lincoln as utterly compliant to the planter class and otherwise a form of local entertainment.
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