While Amendment One has been a hot topic for many students on campus, it is not so much the content of the bill that redefines North Carolina law, but the implications that reveal the political leanings of our state.
As a member of the distinctive region known as the “Bible Belt,” which has been the home for the majority of Republican voters in the past 30 years, North Carolina has proved time and again to have an identity unique from its neighbors.
Unlike its neighboring governments, the North Carolina legislature was primarily Democratic until the 2010 elections, when the Republicans gained control of both houses for the first time since the 1890s .
This overwhelmingly Democratic legislature may have been the primary reason why Amendment One, dealing with the definition of legal unions, was never put on the ballot before now.
Amendment One, or the lack of such an amendment, has furthered North Carolina’s unique identity from its neighbors, as it is currently the only state in the South that has no such law.
” I think [Amendment One] is pointless,” Stefan Spruill, undeclared junior, said. “Same-sex marriage is already banned in North Carolina.”
Many students who plan to vote against Amendment One on May 8 worry their peers aren’t aware of this pre-existing law.
“I’m sure if you asked ‘Does North Carolina ban same-sex marriages?’ many people would answer yes, but that’s because, to the best of their knowledge, North Carolina simply does not accept it, and they may get the two words confused without prior clarification,” Spruill said.
Amendment One would not only be restricting to gay couples, but also for heterosexual couples in domestic unions. The bill’s wording could also interfere with the financial and medical decisions of unmarried couples, trump wills and end-of-life requests, invalidate legal protections of seniors who are no longer or were never married, and take away legal protection for children of unmarried parents.
Whether the aAmendment will pass is still a mystery to many people.
“I t all depends on the voters,” Courtney Jones, senior in psychology, said. “It depends on our generation. Are we going to sit back and let people vote for discrimination, or are we going to fight back, and make our voices heard by voting?”
This would not be the first time North Carolina has acted differently than its neighbors expected. During the 1960s , when desegregation in the South was met with violence, heated riots, and even a bombing in Birmingham, North Carolina ushered in this change with a whisper, not a shout. Many believe this shows the true spirit of North Carolinians.
“We choose to handle our matters in a more diplomatic way where we can maintain peace,” Hannah Jones, junior in biological sciences, said. “We can still fight for what we want but we can use means other than violence.”
Spruill believes the past of North Carolina’s actions show it’s not resistant to change and is more open and accepting than its neighbors.
That being said, Spruill confesses some worries about how Amendment One will reflect on the state, and hopes it will not pass.
Many still remain optimistic that North Carolina will prove, yet again, that it is a state who stands apart from its neighbors.
“Ours is a ‘home-sweet-home’ kind of state,” Jones said. “I think that here, people are willing to open their minds and hearts to others. In a way, we’re willing to share our ‘home-sweet-home’ with others.”
