Around here, it’d be easy to think that Amendment One doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of passing. There certainly are more houses in Carrboro with anti-amendment signs than those without, and a week hasn’t gone by in the past few months where there hasn’t been a major fundraising event gathering support in the fight against the amendment.
Really, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone in Carrboro announcing his or her support for this amendment – the proposed amendment to our state constitution that would define marriage as only between a man and a woman. Here at The Citizen, we’ve gotten a number of letters against the amendment, and just one – written by someone outside our coverage area – supporting the amendment.
But outside our little progressive enclave there’s a danger, a real danger, that this amendment could in fact pass. Drive a few miles out of town and you’re sure to see signs proclaiming support for the amendment, and turn on your television and you’ll see advertisements spewing the need to “protect traditional marriage.†On a recent drive down to the coast, I saw a mobile message board out front of a tiny church announcing the sins of homosexuality.
We know we don’t need to convince the vast majority of those who will read this editorial of the harms of Amendment One – and we’ve spent the past few months running op-eds spelling out those harms – but we do worry that many around here might not be aware of the widespread support for this amendment, or the more general lack of knowledge of what it’s about.
So for the love of this state, if you haven’t already, please get out and vote against this thing. Bring someone with you to the polls. Start up a conversation about Amendment One, and tell anyone who will listen how this amendment will encroach on civil rights.
The battle against this amendment has been long and hard-fought, and while a majority of voters still say they plan to support it, that number is shrinking, according to Public Policy Polling. Since last October, the number of voters supporting Amendment One has dropped from 61 percent to 54 percent, with voters against it growing from 34 percent to 40 percent, representing a 13-point swing.
In addition, polls show 53 percent of voters support either gay marriage or civil unions, with 44 percent opposed. Amendment One would ban both gay marriage and civil unions, something that supporters of the amendment want to confuse voters about, at which they’ve apparently been somewhat successful.
What exactly would this amendment say about North Carolina? Well, for one, that our state doesn’t welcome gay people, gay couples or businesses that choose to provide benefits to domestic partners. We’re pretty sure that’s not what the people of North Carolina want to be known for – exclusivity and fear, that is.
After all, this is the same state that President Obama just last week said had some of the friendliest people around, where even people who don’t vote for him are nice to him.
And this amendment is about as far from “nice†as you can get.
For a complete list of voting sites and times, see page 3.
Fracking will affect the air and water quality in the Triangle
Triangle residents may not realize that fracking areas run through Wake, Durham, Orange, and Lee counties, affecting the water supply of 2.4 million people. A map shows watersheds and fracking areas (slide 2): http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/fracking_in_north_carolina/maps. North Carolina has the least separation between water and natural gas layers of rock, where fracking fluids could irreversibly pollute the water supply. Some fracking fluids contain 93 times more benzene than diesel. Scientists at the Endocrine Disruption Exchange found that 25% of fracking chemicals could cause cancer, 37% disrupt the endocrine system, 40 to 50% the nervous, immune, and cardiovascular systems, and 75%+ the sensory organs and respiratory system, and cause skin and eye irritation and flu-like symptoms. ProPublica identified 1,000+ documented cases of water contamination nationwide near fracking sites prior to 2009. In Houston, there is more air pollution from fracking than cars! A Texas hospital reported asthma rates 3x higher than the state average in counties with drilling sites, with one-quarter of children having asthma. A new shale health office has opened in Pennsylvania. For 387 mostly temporary jobs and a five year supply of low-priced natural gas in NC, the current legislature is willing to sell out our air and water quality.