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Describes the anti-amendment folks on this board to a T, and they all get a pass.
I'll readily admit I'm a bigot. Everyone is, after all... sure, people get all huffy at the accusation and acts like they aren't a bigot, but there is no shame in being human. After all, if you've ever disagreed with anyone about anything, you meet the definition as far as I'm concerned.
The key difference between my bigotry and yours? I'm not advocating for passing laws based on my bigotry.
As soon as I try to pass a law limiting your freedom because of my bigotry feel free to rail! I probably would deserve it.
Describes the anti-amendment folks on this board to a T, and they all get a pass.
I think there's a misconception that people against this amendment are bigots against others' personal religious beliefs. Certainly there's anger that others' religious beliefs have been used to shape the constitution of the state and create a less than equal legal status for a minority. This does not mean that there's bigotry. This means that there's anger toward being forced to live under others' belief systems. To restrict rights from any group based on ones religious beliefs is an actual act of bigotry.
Now, I don't necessarily believe that everyone who voted for the amendment is a bigot. However, I do think that those who shaped the language of the amendment are bigots because they knew exactly how to word it and campaign for it to incite as much fear and misunderstanding as possible. As for voters, I think they fall into a variety of categories ranging from full on bigot to those who misunderstood its full consequences. I suspect that there will be those who will regret their vote in the future as its impacts come to life. For the many others, I see them falling into one or more of the following categories.
Those who thought a NO vote would legalize gay marriage
Those who didn't realize that they were preventing any recognition for gay couples whatsoever including domestic partner benefits
Those who thought churches would be forced to perform gay weddings
Those who simply didn't give it that much thought because it doesn't affect them
Those who voted Yes because their pastor told them so.
Where some of these reasons were downright wrong, others are more related to ones cultural surroundings. Are all these people bigots? No. Are some of them bigots? Probably. But it's dangerous to paint everyone with the same big brush. Doing so will not move us forward together as a civil society.
I am not a particularly religious person but I have absolutely no disdain for those who are. What others do and believe is their business and choice. It's not for me to say. In the same way, all I ask is that other's beliefs and choices not be used to limit the civil rights of those who disagree with them. IMO, doing so is the very definition of unAmerican. Doing so is also in violation of the 1st and 14th amendments to the US Constitution.
In the end, the ironic thing about this amendment is that there's absolutely no reference to God, sanctity or children....all the things that were used to push for its passage. There's no requirement for married opposite sex couples to have children. There's no requirement for married couples to stay married because they have children. There's not even a requirement for couples that produce children to get married. On top of all of this, there's not a requirement to get married beyond a civil ceremony at the courthouse....one that can consist of two opposite sex unmarried adults who meet just 5 minutes before on the sidewalk out front. So, in effect, the amendment doesn't accomplish anything that it says it's intended to do. Because of this, the only logical thing that I can come up with to describe its true intent is based in bigotry.
Because of this, the only logical thing that I can come up with to describe its true intent is based in bigotry.[/quote]
So you are saying that Reverend Billy Graham is a Bigot?
"Watching the moral decline of our country causes me great concern, said Graham, 93, who lives near Asheville. "I believe the home and marriage is the foundation of our society and must be protected.
At 93, I never thought we would have to debate the definition of marriage, The Bible is clear — God's definition of marriage is between a man and a woman. I want to urge my fellow North Carolinians to vote for the marriage amendment".
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