Millions of dollars on each side have been spent to express their views. And the exposure of this debate has created a nationwide question, "Are we ready to accept Same-Sex couples as a legal form of marriage?"
Of course you know my views on this, and how I will be voting tomorrow, basing it on my past posts. In modern society, marriage doesn't need to be defined between one man and one woman. I have taken a Sociology course, and people go against Same-Sex marriage because it interferes with the Funcionalism theory, which is the belief that parts such as reproduction, marriage, parenting, schools, governments, and religion are the organs to our functioning society. And many claim that gay marriage remove the reproduction and marriage, therefore destroying our society. But I highly disagree with this. While Same-Sex couples cannot reproduce in a conventional way, they use methods that are popular not only with them, but also with heterosexual couples. And if they were granted marriage, they could carry out their intended role in society just as well as if they were straight.
This isn't the first time this debate has come about. This has been a heated topic for years, but opinions finally turning now in favor of these couples that deserve the right to marry as much as anyone else. States are finally getting their act together and making marriage legal. But the south is harder to make this a reality. But North Carolina is the first state with the opprotunity to really send a message and oppose the discrimination that the other states have been stubborn about. And members of this state, no matter the gender or age, has come out in opposition of this law, making the outcome anyones guess.
This law has many consequences if passed, which should make many of you question which is the right decision. The law is so broad that it could "deny health insurance for the children of domestic partners and endanger domestic violence survivors who are not married to their abusers." And not only would this effect gay couples, but straight as well. Who would want someone to vote for something that is so dangerous to our community?
While there are some huge supporters of this law, including Newt Gingrich, and the iconic religious Graham family, there are way more people that are opposed to this. First of all, our President of the United States opposes this. And the list goes down from Governor Bev Purdue to leaders of Bank of America and Duke Energy. With highly influencial figures such as these opposing this, I don't see how many people can ignore this.
And here is something interesting about what people think about when it comes to voting about this. According to Advocate.com, "A Public Policy Polling survey released last week showed that 55% of respondents favor the amendment and 41% oppose it. However, when respondents were informed about the broad reach of the amendment, only 38% supported it, compared to 46% opposed." So that is why it is so important for people to really know what they are voting for, and really search their souls before voting, and hopefully be able to sleep with their decision.
I'm sure many of you have already made your mind up about this. And that is fine, no matter what your view is on this. But I do ask that you be completely aware of what you are voting for. And imagine that this was your lifestyle that is being voted on. How would you want the outcome to be, and determining how you spend your time with your spouses and children. The Battle of North Carolina is going to be a big one, and I hope that you join the fight.
-Tyler
