Vote For Marriage NC: Protecting Marriage From 'The Whims Of Radical Activists'

Vote For Marriage NC is the deceitful, Bible-thumping, bigoted organization rallying 'marriage supporters' to pass the harmful amendment to ban same-sex marriage in the NC state constitution.

I get their emails. As a straight, married father living and working in North Carolina, Vote For Marriage NC comes across as, well, pathetic. They have nothing. It doesn't matter how you look at it, Amendment One is completely unnecessary, discriminatory, bigoted, shortsighted, bad for business, and just really lousy legislation.

We hate gay people, and this family is a stock photo

Their latest email is a flaccid attempt to rally 'marriage supporters' to stand up and be counted, as they can't seem to rally quite like the anti-amendment folks.

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Recent reports claim that “several thousand” of our opponents will be marching on our State Capitol today in protest of our efforts to preserve marriage through the Marriage Protection Amendment that is on the ballot on May 8th.

These activists have an agenda, and we must act now in order to put a stop to it. Will you stand by while activists seek to redefine marriage in our state, or will you join our efforts to protect marriage? Please donate $20, $60, or $100 now if you want to preserve marriage in North Carolina!

By passing the Marriage Protection Amendment on May 8th, we can protect marriage from the whims of radical activists who are working to redefine marriage against the will of the people. But we can only make our voices heard with your support.

In December 2011, a court case was filed in Guilford County challenging our state’s marriage laws. The threat to marriage is real in North Carolina, and our opposition’s organized and highly funded campaign is using deceptive messaging to confuse voters about what the Marriage Protection Amendment accomplishes. Thankfully, we know the truth: The Amendment simply elevates our current marriage laws to a constitutional amendment where it can only be changed by another vote of the people of North Carolina. Protecting marriage in our Constitution will prevent the court in Guilford County or any other state court, for that matter, from re-defining marriage for the rest of us.

How do we make our voices heard above the roar of activists and our oppositions’ deceptive messaging? Volunteer or donate today! May 8th is rapidly approaching, and we need your support to bring us to victory.

With your support, we can make sure marriage stays between only a man and a woman on May 8th.

Sincerely,

Rachel Lee
Communications Director, Vote FOR Marriage NC

There's something incredibly telling in the email. Vote For Marriage NC can't seem to come up with actual reasons why same-sex marriage is such a threat.

Let's see. Well, for starters, they want to 'protect marriage from the whims of radical activists who are working to redefine marriage against the will of the people.' Hm. Do they mean radical activists like myself? A married, lifetime North Carolinian, father of three, who lives in the suburbs? God forbid a pasty, overweight, lawn-mowing, soccer dad destroy marriage with one of his crazy whims. Am I not part of the will of the people? Are the thousands of gay and lesbian citizens not part of the will of the people? And really, do we want to put the rights of human beings up for a vote? Do you know how that might have went in certain southern states during the civil rights era?

If you believe marriage to be a union between a man and a woman, you are working with a definition of marriage completely different to what actually occurred in, say, 500 BCE or 54 CE. Marriage has been redefined over and over and over again, and it will continue to be until the earth is swallowed by the sun (or until humans are extinct, whichever comes first).

The email mentions that 'these activists have an agenda.' Well, of course we have an agenda. We have an agenda to allow citizens of our great state to be treated equally -- just as civil rights activists had an agenda to allow human beings with different skin color to be treated equally.

Hey Vote For Marriage NC, have you ever thought that maybe you are the radical activists? As I mentioned, I'm not gay. I'm happily married. I contribute to the state economy. I vote. I mow the lawn. I attend parent-teacher conferences. I volunteer at the food bank. I grill out. And I think you are radical. You are actively working to deny rights to other human beings based on their natural traits. That's radical. Jesus would ask you to kindly chill the fuck out.

Which group more resembles the radical Taliban? The people who want equal treatment for all, regardless of natural traits? Or the ones who are hell-bent on oppressing an entire group of citizens because they do not meet your definition of holy?

The only fact in your email, Vote For Marriage NC, is your opening salutation.  You're absolutely right. I am a 'marriage supporter.' For everyone.

NC's Clay Aiken Speaks Out Against Amendment One

North Carolina's own Clay Aiken speaks out against the harmful May 8 marriage Amendment.

Watch:

Visit ProtectNC.org to learn more about the harms of this amendment.

Remember to VOTE NO on May 8.

What I Want For My Birthday

I will turn 43 years old on Sunday, January 29. I'm usually not one to make a big deal about birthdays. I'm not big on forced merriment, and I don't like to remind myself that this may be the first year that I will be older than 100% of the Red Sox 40-man roster.

I'm not big on presents. This year, however, I'm asking for something. I want all of my NC-based friends, relatives, acquaintances, followers, and readers, to pledge to get up off their asses on May 8 and vote against the anti-LGBT amendment. (Seriously, click the link, and pledge.)

If you feel inclined to do more than that (I know most of you are going to vote against it anyway), please consider donating, volunteering, or attending an event.

If you aren't based in NC, please consider donating. We need all the help we can get.

I've explained why I'm against this amendment. It's not rocket science.

I want to remind everyone that this amendment, if passed, will affect you and your neighbors. It will strip basic protections from hundreds of thousands of North Carolina families. It will threaten child custody and visitation laws and increases risk factors for teen suicide. It will threaten domestic violence protections for all unmarried couples. It will threaten North Carolinians' most basic personal freedoms. It will harm our great state's economy.

Perhaps the best reason for voting against this amendment is the fact that we should never put our citizens' civil rights up for a vote.

If your religious views make you hesitant to commit, consider the growing number in the faith community who have no problem reconciling their vote with their faith.

Talk to your family members. Reach out to the people who you feel might not have all the information they need to accurately assess the damage this amendment could cause. Engage people in your communities, your schools, and your churches. Inform your Facebook friends and Twitter followers. Blog, send emails, and share links to resources.

Pass this post along to friends who don't even know me.  If your birthday is coming up (or not), pass this along to your friends and ask the same.

I don't ask for much. The best birthday present I could receive would be to know that each of you consider doing something -- whatever you can -- to help defeat this initiative.

Thank you.