After all the campaigning, all the analysis, all the Facebook groups, and tweets, and tumbles, Amendment One passed. This isn’t about banning gay marriage in North Carolina, because gay marriage, as it has been said many times before, is already banned here. To be honest, I’m not quite sure what this amendment was about. It’s language is dramatically stark: the only domestic union that will be recognized in the state of North Carolina is marriage between one man and one woman. That means children of unmarried parents who rely on one parent for health insurance will no longer be covered. It means unmarried victims of domestic assault will no longer be able to press domestic assault charges on their partner, since that would involve the government recognizing their union.
The overall feeling right now is not anger. It is not sadness. It’s shame. Liberal voters in this state have worked hard to make us an anomaly in the south. We’re a key battleground state because we’re the only state below the Mason Dixon line (besides Florida) that isn’t a foregone conclusion for the GOP. We’re hosting the DNC. Charlotte and Raleigh are the two fastest growing cities in the country. Yet, for all our progress, in one day it seems as if we’re just tossed back into a pile with all the other ass backwards states in the South.
We are ashamed of this. We are ashamed of what it does to our reputation as a state. We are ashamed of what it does to children, women, and of course, the message it sends about how we treat the LGBTQ community in North Carolina.
Sad day, man. We’re all a bit bummed.
