A federal judge struck down North Carolina’s ban on gay marriage Friday in a monumental decision. For NC State this ruling has a significant meaning for members of the student body, faculty and staff regardless of sexual orientation.
“[Friday’s ruling] helps to legitimize [LGBT] relationships that exist within NC State students and faculty and allows partners to provide insurance benefits to one another,” said Justine Hollingshead, assistant to the vice chancellor and dean in the Division of Academic and Student Affairs and former director of NC State’s GLBT Center.
Hollingshead said she has followed the fight for gay marriage in North Carolina not only because it is her job, but also for personal reasons. She said her and her partner were married two years ago in Washington, D.C., though the marriage was not recognized under North Carolina law until Friday.
“I was shocked that it actually happened,” Hollingshead said.
NC State, like many other universities across the country, has a history of homophobia. In 2011, homophobic slurs were spray painted in the Free Expression Tunnel. The NC State Student Senate responded by passing a resolution opposing the NC General Assembly’s proposed ban on gay marriage, according to WRAL.
The LGBT community has won many battles for equality over recent years, but many people agree it still has a long way to go.
“This is one step, but there is still so much more to go,” said Rebekah M., a freshman in art and design and a transgender student, gave their statements with the request that we not use their full name for cautionary purposes.
While their safety has never felt threatened at NC State, Rebekah said there are still social stigmas associated with being queer on a college campus.
Rebekah said transgender people still face challenges when attempting to marry because their birth certificates show a different letter next to sex than what they are at the time of their request for a marriage license. However, the ruling gives hope for further changes to marriage legislation.
“It’s nice to be able to look forward to marriage as a possibility at some point in my life,” Rebekah said.
Rebekah said they feel this ruling is a sign of a “generational revolution,” mirroring the radical growing pains the U.S. underwent throughout the ‘60s era.
Among the NC State student body, approval of gay marriage has been on the rise since fall of 2011, according to data from a Pack Poll survey. In a fall of 2013 poll, a sample of NC State students found that 74 percent were in favor of allowing LGBT couples to marry/form civil unions.
In the same poll, 34 percent of students identified themselves as independent, 32 percent identified as Republican and 25 percent identified as Democrat, demonstrating the support for gay marriage transcends party lines on campus.
“It is a human rights issue, not a political issue,” said Hollingshead.
Historically, judicial rulings have played major roles in fueling social change in the U.S.
When North Carolinians voted for Amendment 1 in 2012, gay marriage was already illegal, but the amendment changed the wording in the North Carolina Constitution to read: “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.”