LGBT

As a Libertarian, I don't believe in collective guilt or responsibility. It is individuals that act and they deserve the blame or credit for their actions. However, after the disappointing results of the Amendment One vote, I find myself wanting to apologize to the LGBT community and everybody who will be affected by this amendment on behalf of North Carolina.

That is not right.

One person cannot apologize for another. Plus, that would be ignoring an important fact about this fight - many people voted against this horrible initiative and still others worked very hard to defeat this amendment (canvassing, calling, speaking in public, writing op-eds, educating, etc) and they have nothing to apologize for. While I won't apologize for other people, I will apologize for myself. That I CAN do.

I apologize that I didn't walk up to 5 more house while canvassing or call 3 more numbers while phone banking.

I'm sitting here thinking about all of the blood, sweat and tears poured into this battle to defeat Amendment One here in NC. It looks like is NC had the highest turnout for a primary here in a quarter century -- 37%. Only 18% were expected to vote.

But the forces of bigotry won this round. (WRAL; full election results can be found here):

The constitutional amendment defining marriage in North Carolina as between one man and one woman appears like it will pass. With 30 percent of precincts reporting, those in favor of the amendment lead those against 57 percent to 43 percent.

I think it's important to remember that there are many, many grassroots organizations and group efforts working hard here on the ground to defeat Amendment One, many on their own time and dime, because they feel strongly that we're all in this together as North Carolinians, each with a role to play in educating voters, bringing people together to discuss the amendment's harms and getting out the vote. One such group is All of Us NC, a grassroots offshoot of the social justice organization Southerners On New Ground (SONG).

According to Indyweek.com

"Tom Campbell, producer and moderator of the blog NC SPIN, will host a panel about Amendment 1 on Monday, April 30, 5–7 p.m., in Bay 7 at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham. Panelists include state Rep. Deborah K. Ross, UNC law professor Maxine Eichner and the Rev. Patrick L. Wooden Sr., Pastor of the Upper Room Church of God in Christ."

Read about this and other Amendment one panels and forums at The DOMA Monitor:

http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/the-doma-monitor/Content?oid=3012923

If you have never read about or heard Barry Goldwater, you are missing out. He was a Republican Senator in Arizona and the Republican Presidential nominee in 1964. Nicknamed "Mr. Conservative", he represents what the Republican Party should have been before selling out to the Religious Right - a party dedicated to small constitutional government, equal opportunity for all, free markets and individual liberty. He has become a libertarian hero for his dedication to these principles even as the Republican Party moved closer to the Evangelicals and abandoned its core mission to keep our citizens as free from the constraints of government as possible. Here are some quotes I think you will enjoy.

On the Religious Right

Really interesting article in the News&Observer Craig Jarvis does a good job pointing out just how murky voter approval/disapproval is for A1 mostly due to a lack of understanding.

"...7 percent of those surveyed thought it would legalize gay marriage, instead of the opposite."
"...only about one-third of the respondents actually know what the amendment would do."
"The PPP poll showed 28 percent of voters think the amendment only bans gay marriage."
"Thirty-four percent acknowledged that they really don’t know what it means."

It is bad enough that the NC Legislature is trying to write discrimination into our state constitution,
it is bad enough they are using the constitution to infringe on the rights of part of the population,
it is bad enough they are insulting citizens of a "free" society by requiring further permission to form unions of love and affection;

At the LPNC convention in Durham, NC on Sunday March 24, a letter from former Governor of New Mexico and current candidate for the LP Presidential nomination Gary Johnson was read by Tim Doran, his State Director for North Carolina. In the letter he talked about the importance of North Carolina and its fight against Amendment One,(emphasis mine)

"Durham, NC – The Libertarian Party of North Carolina held its annual state convention March 23-25 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Durham. Delegates, several guests, and guest speakers attended...

The convention unanimously declared the LPNC’s opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment restricting marriage in a resolution that also opposes marriage licensing in any form and calls on betrothed couples to ignore licensing altogether."

Well, naysayers out there who said that the President would not say a peep about the discriminatory Amendment One in NC because it's an election year (even though he did so in 2008 for Prop 8), you'll have to eat crow. His campaign obviously "did the math" and decided it was the right thing to do to release a statement opposing it.

This occurred last week but we've got a new video of Mayor Bill Bell's statement about the Amendment. I'm so proud of my town.

On Thursday, March 8, in a 6-0 vote, the city of Durham’s councilmembers encouraged voters to cast their upcoming ballots against an amendment to the state constitution that would strip the local government of the ability to provide domestic partner benefits such as health care to its public employees and their children, among other harms.