The proposed legislation to amend North Carolina’s Constitution has brought out combatants on both sides inflaming opposition on campus. Currently, there is a statute that bans same sex marriages in North Carolina—but an amendment would be a far more permanent and difficult legal process to pass.
“To make it an amendment it has to have two-thirds vote from both the house and senate to put it on the ballet,” Buddy Bryson, a senior in sociology and treasurer of student government, said. “Once it’s once the ballet, then it takes a simple majority of citizens within North Carolina who are eligible to vote to make it an official amendment.”
According to Bryson, a statute is easier to pass than a constitutional amendment.
“…But they are basically the same thing,” Bryson said. “By doing this, it is putting discrimination in our constitution and it makes it so that if North Carolina would like to change this law, it is harder to do so.”
Overall, student opinion has been negative of the proposed legislation. Student Government has already taken action.
“I know within student government a bill has been filed condemning this bill and the actions of our state legislators,” Bryson said. “They are working on finding some speakers to come to the campus and educate the students about what this bill will actually do.”
Other students said they don’t feel as if legislators are truly representing the state’s sentiments.
“From what I’ve seen, students don’t feel as if the representatives are really representing who they are,” Robert San Miguel, a senior in plant biology, said. He says that much of the voicing of opinions has been done through social media.
“Everyone has been appalled by it on Facebook. Most people, gay and straight, are saying how wrong it is. People are disappointed in who they voted for,” San Miguel said.
The amendment could have broader implications on students and faculty than just a ban on gay marriage. Some may considering relocating after college to have domestic partner benefits extended to them.
“A lot of companies who are not located in North Carolina can extend benefits to those with domestic partnerships for their job. This amendment would be able to say you cannot do that,” Bryson said. “We may see businesses leave North Carolina when they see the fact that NC State graduates may look elsewhere if denied that opportunity and they start leaving.”
In addition, Bryson noted more personal effects the legislation could have.
“For some students, N.C . State is basically a home for them. We work hard to be accepting of everyone. This sets a standard for North Carolina by saying we don’t accept who you may be and that it is okay to discriminate against these people.”
San Miguel said he sees the proposed amendment as backward.
“It basically says that North Carolina is one of the few states in the country that doesn’t accept people who are different,” San Miguel said. “Rather than keeping it the way it was, they are taking one step further in the wrong direction. They are back pedaling.”
Some students may find a conflict of interest between state and religion, as did Alan Sheridan, a senior in computer science, when considering the amendment.
“I believe you should have some form of legal partnership, if anything, the biggest problem people usually have with marriage is some sort of religious problem, and if it is, that’s one thing but in a legal sense, it should be determined differently. If it’s recognized by the church or by the state, it doesn’t matter, they should be separate,” Sheridan said.
