By Adam Carlson
Well, the amendment passed and now the opinions are flying left and right like shit being hurled from the monkey house at the zoo.
There have been a lot of people who voted for this amendment stating that they did so and that they are proud of their choice to vote their beliefs. Furthermore most have also pointed out that they feel persecuted because those with progressive views (not to mention those of us who are actually educated and informed) are calling them ignorant for it.
For the record, if you voted pro Amendment One believing that it was really about blocking homosexual marriage from attaining legal status in North Carolina you did vote out of ignorance. Also, if you voted pro Amendment One believing that it was legislation to MAKE homosexual marriage illegal in North Carolina, you ARE actually ignorant (by definition). Gay marriage has never been legally recognized in N.C., part of this amendment was simply blocking the ability of any one judge to overturn that by writing it into our constitution. And that was just the bait!
It’s just too much to ask for straight-forward legislation and a properly informed and educated voting populous. Not to be facetious, that’s just the way it is. The proponents of this legislation directly aimed it at the already embattled Christian Right who took that bait and ran with it. Defining marriage as “not gay” was just the bait; the citizens of NC will be sorting out the damage done by the hook, line, and sinker in the courts for years to come.
(Forgive me, I am about to break with proper format for objective writing and insert some opinion and first-person observation here as well as some religious views held by myself.)
This amendment and the reasons for its writing and passing are the absolute opposite of logic, objective thought, and reason. My spiritual views are Christian, but the God I believe in never gave any man the right to judge another’s choices or lifestyle for them. And separation of church and state is a good thing…even Jesus implied they ought to be separate (I believe) when he said render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s. I’m disappointed by the ignorance shown in my state.
I must ask the question: with people of all races, creeds and faiths getting married all over the world since time immemorial, whose god defines it? I believe it’s bigger than just one group’s definition as defined by their chosen god. Furthermore, if Yahweh and Allah both have the same definition of marriage…might they be the same God?
(Ohhhhhh I just either blew someone’s mind or opened the floodgates with that comment!)
Point is, if you’re a Christian, then God defines marriage for YOU, a Christian. Any real judgment calls beyond that belong to God alone. Also, there are a lot of things the Bible calls sin that are perfectly legal, nobody even thinks twice to legislate on them. It’s not the Bible, but I like the line of the serenity prayer that says, “Taking this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that He will make all things right according to His will.”
If God wanted control over the laws of our lands he would have sent the messiah to run for political office instead of as a sacrifice to atone the sins of man…and I’m just gonna say it, if you vote with the Christian right, count that among those sins. I can think of no greater affront to a benevolent deity than to do harm to your fellow man in His name!
In my opinion the political views of the Christian right are no less idiotic or offensive to me as a Christian or as a reasonable, objective, thinking person than those of the infamous Westborough Baptist church.
I believe in an idea of America where a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim, an Atheist, a Hindu, Buddhist, Bahia, or whatever can all live on the same block, go to each others cook outs, be friends and respect each other’s beliefs while practicing their own without feeling like they need to convert the unbelievers or that their way of life is under fire. That’s nationalist talk, the Christian right are no better than watered down Nazis.
Why do so many Christian fundamentalists seem to have this “embattled” attitude? Nobody is trying to deny you your rights to worship as you please. It’s quite the opposite. The Christian right is constantly seeking more political influence to change legislation to its fundamentalist views, like with this amendment.
Politically speaking, shouldn’t we all be more worried about people getting food stamps who are walking around with smart phones and using their EBT cards to buy crab legs and steaks?
indieregister.wordpress.com 
You broke with proper format for objective writing in the beginning of your third paragraph. If you haven’t noticed, Christians are being attacked in this country every which way we turn. I don’t like and I am not even a Christian; I am agnostic. The problem is that you can not see that 62% of the people that actually voted on this amendment feel that this is good legislation. Granted, there are a good number of people in that percentage that are guided by religion or religious thought, but many are not. But the fact is, I (we) didn’t ask for this fight on marriage, it was thrust upon us. Being as such, the people voted and said no. It is time to get over it or move to one of the other 19 states that do not have such an amendment. Because if I am not mistaken, North Carolina is the 31st state to pass similar Constitutional amendments support traditional marriage. If these people don’t like, they can move. It is that simple.
Just because you get 50% of the people to agree with you doesnt make you right… Nazi Germany anyone? He had all the population behind him, except the minority Jews… Hmmmmm whats wrong with this picture.
This is why democracy fails EVERY time, and we were supposed to be a Republic (ie “Rule by Law”). The laws are there to protect rights, not take them away.
I hope that in the next election, the voters vote for people who want the government out of our lives, out of our wallets and NOT looking into our bedroom. Where does the government get the right to tell us that we have to get THEIR permission to marry. IF I get elected this fall, I am going to kick ass in the G.A. or they will put out a contract on me.