I returned from Paris, France, to see that North Carolinians had voted to restrict the rights of a minority by approving a constitutional amendment that would make marriage between one man and one woman the only domestic legal union that would be valid or recognized by the state.  And with polling showing that 60% of North Carolinians did not understand the amendment, they also unwittingly approved an amendment with far reaching consequences to both same-sex and straight couples.

What follows is a largely similar piece to what was submitted to the Raleigh News & Observer as a letter to the editor.  As one of my letters regarding the amendment was recently published by the N&O (ref), this one likely will not be.  So I post it here.  I have included references in support of statements contained in the brief piece.  There is little doubt, as previously published (ref), that the driving force behind this amendment was religious objection to homosexuality; and that objection has now been incorporated into the state’s constitution.

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May 10, 2012

The American Psychological Association has affirmed that “same-sex sexual and romantic attractions, feelings, and behaviors are normal and positive variations of human sexuality regardless of sexual orientation identity” (ref).   And the American Psychiatric Association has affirmed that attempts to change homosexual behavior “are often guided not by rigorous scientific or psychiatric research, but sometimes by religious and political forces opposed to full civil rights for gay men and lesbians” (ref).  Yet our state will deny committed same-sex couples, and their families, rights currently afforded to them under a civil union?

Religious interpretation has, regrettably, all too often been used to relegate individuals to second-class citizenship.  The husband shall “rule over” the woman (Genesis 2).  As God placed the races on different continents it is proof that He never intended for them to mix (in justifying miscegenation law, Loving’s criminal trial – ref).   And homosexuality is “abomination” (Leviticus).

Protect marriage?  It is high time that we protect one of our most cherished founding liberties, our First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.