Faith in America, Email NC Ballot is act of Violence

Ballot initiative is an act of violence against
North Carolina children and families

But it also has created an opportunity for
ground-shaking vote against religion-based bigotry

The anti-gay religious industry for 10 years has been threatening violence against North Carolina gay and lesbian citizens in the form of a placing a moral, religious and legal stamp of disapproval on their lives via the state's constitution.

On Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011 their threat of violence became an act of violence as the N.C. House and Senate voted to place an anti-gay marriage amendment before a misinformed and ill-intentioned citizenry – which represents the problem and the remedy.

While the vote was taken this week, that is not where this sad chapter in North Carolina governance started - it began in November 2010 with the election of a Republican majority in the N.C. General Assembly. If anyone doubts that the Republican Party is the party that embraces  religion-based bigotry, please spare us the defense argument. We've heard it before.

But on to the good news –  a majority of North Carolina voters on May 8, 2012 can send a ground-shaking and historic message – religion-based bigotry and prejudice toward LGBT people will not prevail in North Carolina. View remarks by Chely Wright and Mitchell Gold at rally in Raleigh.

And I believe they will and here's why.

This weekend,  N.C. Republican Sen. James Forrestor – who has been pushing this bill for N.C. Southern Baptists and other anti-gay religious groups in the state – called the beautiful and vibrant city of Asheville a "cesspool of sin" because of "homosexuals that live there." That's right. Forrestor believes Asheville, N.C. is a cesspool because of its LGBT people.

In the week leading up to the action in the General Assembly, Forrester spoke at a forum held at a Gaston County church about the proposed amendment. During that forum he referred to Asheville as a “cesspool of sin.” In explaining his remarks to M2M Politics, he stated “They have a lot of homosexuals that live in the Asheville area."

It is pretty clear that Forrestor is one of the most ignorant, prejudiced and bigoted individuals in our state. Certainly, he does not represent the majority of North Carolinians and I do not believe the majority of voters will embrace bigotry, prejudice and discrimination as values this state upholds nor as values to enshrine in our state constitution. I'm even more certain that young people are 80 percent opposed to such ill-intentioned mistreatment of LGBT people.

The hostility embraced by lawmakers who voted to put this on the ballot may prove to be a unique gift that may result in one incredible signal coming from this state on May 8, 2012.  And that's not just expressing hopeful sentiment.

Here's what the current voter rolls and other numbers look like. 

• Current registration: Democratic – 2,711,351; Republican – 1,936,077; Libertarian – 11,654; Unaffiliated – 1,485,675 

• If there is a 40 percent turnout among Democrats, Republicans and Unaffiliated, and equality gets 60 percent of the Democrats, 70 percent of Unaffilated and 25 percent of Republican, the anti-gay marriage amendment would be defeated 1,260,320 to 1,192,919.

If you do not think that is a realistic scenario, consider North Carolina polling in April that showed 64% of independent voters, 60% of Democratic voters, and 36% of Republican voters support legal recognition. If those numbers support legal recognition, what might they think of embedding bigotry, prejudice and discrimination toward gay couples and LGBT people in general into the state constitution.

Those numbers and the fact that 80 percent of young people will vote against it ought to have Forrestor and his bigoted friends in the General Assembly wondering if perhaps they have given supporters of equality the opportunity to express a historic stand against the very bigotry and prejudice that motivated their hostile anti-gay legislation. 

That is exactly what they have done.

And here's the most important part. Those winning numbers and that monumental statement for equality in America will not materialize without an all-out county-by-county organizing effort. And it must begin now and we must have everyone working together. And egually important will be our efforts to transform a misinformed citizenry into an informed citizen. We have to exposed the vile religion-based bigotry behind such a measure and present the irrefutable case that history has provided against such a vile form of bigotry.

Faith in America is wasting no time in helping make that happen.

We will be in Hendersonville, N.C. this coming Tuesday evening for a community dialogue on what really is at stake in this ballot initiative. If you are in the area, please join us at the Historic County Courthouse on Main Street, Hendersonville at 7 p.m. for a compelling and important dialogue. The event is being co-sponsored by PFLAG Flatrock/Hendersonville and Love Welcomes All.

And what a more appropriate place to hold this event than 10 minutes from Asheville – that vibrant mecca of diversity that N.C. Sen. James Forrestor believes is a "cesspool."