Column for May 17, 2012

The primary election finally came and went here in North Carolina.  Many of the races turned out as expected and some as hoped.  I pretty much figured that Amendment One would pass.  Thankfully, North Carolina is now the thirtieth state to pass a “defense of marriage” style state constitutional amendment.  There were amazing media blitzes that only intensified days before the election.

I have stated numerous times that I am more libertarian than most conservatives or even Christians on dealing with civil affairs.  If someone wants to live a homosexual lifestyle, I am not going to stand in their way.  I disagree with endorsing that lifestyle by forcing a vast minority view and morality on the vast majority via law, however.

I was astounded by the outright lies and false accusations about the ramifications of Amendment One.  For those who don’t recall, Amendment One was the constitutional amendment ballot initiative that would reads in part, “Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State”.  Most of them surrounded the loss of benefits to children of homosexual or single parents, the inability to obtain protective restraining orders for victims of domestic abuse, and discrimination claims.  Some of these were so outlandish, law enforcement and district attorneys even had to go on television to refute the falsehoods.  This did not stop the ads full of hate, lies, and deceit, though.  Nor did it stop allegedly tolerant people from vandalizing or stealing the political campaign signs opposed to their views.

People I know who I consider to be fairly intelligent and educated totally bought into some of the lies and even were trying to get others to oppose the initiative based upon these false claims.  I couldn’t believe what I was both reading and hearing from these people.  Every position I heard or read against the amendment was a blatantly specious argument coming from total emotion rather than truthfulness and reason.

How is it that people who label conservatives and religious folks as being intolerant are so tolerant of anyone with a form of deviant behavior but not of anyone who has an opinion that differs from theirs?  I was literally told that my parents did not raise me properly if I simply supported the idea that marriage is defined as the union of one man and one woman.  That does not make me a homophobe or a bigot.  It makes me a traditionalist who believes that marriage has been defined as man and woman with differing views on the numbers involved for all six thousand years of recorded human history.

When people railed against the amendment using secular reasons, I discussed the issue using secular logic.  When people discussed the amendment using religious reasons, I did the same.  To be honest, I cannot fathom how anyone can come up with accurate theological reasons defending the redefinition of marriage.  I saw ministers of religion come out on both sides of the issue, each side claiming to have the mind of God on the subject.  I wonder what religious documents both sides have been reading sometimes.

One argument against Amendment One was that it was pushing one particular religious view on everyone in the state.  Well, the truth is that if a redefinition of what constitutes marriage were to pass in any state, it would be no different.  Whether the values are permissive and liberal or traditional, someone’s religious values would end up coming out on top.  Even if the views are atheistic, atheism is a religious belief.  One ridiculous assertion was that in passing Amendment One, North Carolina just instituted Sharia (Islamic) Law.  Such a harsh and ridiculous statement deserved a harsh reply, which I gave.

Another argument against Amendment One was that it took away civil rights.  Well, you can’t take away rights that don’t exist.  North Carolina law already stated what the constitutional amendment states.  Another assertion was that we should oppose the amendment on the basis of equality.  If we can equate the marriage of one man and one woman with that of two men or two women, we essentially have said that there is no difference between men and women and their natural roles in marriage and family.  If that is the case, we should immediately abolish Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day.

Our glorious leader, President Barack Obama, has formally come out in favor of homosexual marriage and now a major news magazine is featuring his picture on the cover, dubbing him as the “First Gay President”.  I guess he had to be a “first something” President since Bill Clinton was already dubbed the “First Black President” before Obama was ever on the scene.  The fact is that this is not a federal issue, it is a state issue.  Ergo, this endorsement following the North Carolina election is moot, in my opinion.  If someone in North Carolina thinks that that this state is too backwards and full of bigotry now that we have a marriage protection amendment in our constitution, there are 20 other states that don’t have one.  After all, if someone can make the choice to be a homosexual and have a monogamous, committed relationship, they can also choose to live in a state that will be friendlier to their own choices.

Column for April 26, 2012

Have you been listening to the radio ads, watched some of the TV ads, or seen the roadside signs for this political campaign season?  I was amused by several candidates and their claims or position statements.  Quite frankly, I don’t know how some of these candidates can possibly run on their positions.

I often drive through Harnett County.  James Clark of Dunn is one candidate for state legislature that has some of the absolutely worst campaign signs I have ever seen.  First, they are very busy, meaning that there is far too much printing on them to be able to read while driving down the road.  What I was able to see was “support Obama”.  That means that he is basing his candidacy for state office on his willingness to be complicit with the socialist agenda of the current regime in charge of the national government.  Apparently, turning America into a socialist paradise and usurping the power of the very governmental body for which he is seeking membership is just fine with him.  I almost wish that I lived in Harnett County just so that I could vote against such stupidity.

Just as stupid, in my opinion, was the claim by one candidate running as a conservative, also for the North Carolina House.  Jim Fulghum (House District 49) is a neurosurgeon and a Tea Party favorite.  I am all in favor of a candidate that is conservative and is opposed to the whole Obamacare agenda.  However, Fulghum is running on the platform of opposing Obamacare while running for office at the state, not federal level.  Obamacare is a national government program and legislative act, not a state act.  Therefore, to campaign on the concept of fighting national health care is ludicrous to me.  Oddly enough, his web site says nothing about being against the abhorrent health care law, but that is about all that has been in his advertising thus far.

The only way that a North Carolina legislative body can combat something like Obamacare is to pull a move like South Carolina did prior to the Civil War and say that in North Carolina, Obamacare is null, void, and no law.  That is exactly what is being done in Missouri right now.  Their state house has passed Missouri House Bill 1534.  That bill states “The general assembly declares that [the law] exceeds the power granted to Congress under the United States Constitution and therefore is not law, but is altogether void and of no force.”  Personally, I agree with that quote from the Missouri bill.

I have been surprised to see some of the signs both pro and con regarding Amendment One on the ballot May 8^th.  Amendment One, as you may know, is a proposed amendment to the North Carolina constitution.  If approved, the proposed measure would amend Article 14 of the North Carolina Constitution by adding a new section containing the following:

"Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.  This section does not prohibit a private party from entering into contracts with another private party; nor does this section prohibit courts from adjudicating the rights of private parties pursuant to such contracts."

Though I have been extremely busy with a newborn, work, medical procedures, and life in general, I have offered to serve as a county coordinator for one organization in support of Amendment One, since there is not one in Johnston County.  So far, nothing has transpired on that front.  I suspect that this close to the election, nothing will happen.  I am having a hard enough time getting yard signs at this point in support of Amendment One.  For what it is worth, I have seen far more signs in support of Amendment One than in opposition to it.

What amazed me were the signs I have seen in opposition to Amendment One.  One sign in particular is in the front yard of a Presbyterian church elder.  Some people simply don’t mind being apostate, even believing that they are virtuous in their beliefs of acceptance of things totally antithetical to the faith they espouse to uphold.  I, for one, fear God more than man on an issue like this.

With politicians like Bob Etheridge, Barack Obama, Senator Kay Hagan, and Governor Beverly Perdue in declared opposition to Amendment One, I find that sufficient reason to make me want to vote for it.  I have seen absolute hateful, lying garbage and false claims from those opposed to Amendment One.  A common lie is that it is a civil rights issue and that the rights of many would be abridged.  No, there is no such right to homosexual marriage in North Carolina as it is, with state legislation prohibiting it.  This would merely codify that law as a constitutional provision.  I am fine with that concept, since it is harder to overturn a constitutional provision than a state law.

This election year is sure to be one of the most important in my lifetime and will determine the fabric of American values for generations to come.  Our American culture will either be reaffirmed or rewritten.