North Carolina, Amendment One & Collateral Damage

If I hear another commentator repeat how one of the unintended consequences of passing Amendment One will be to dissolve straight families currently bound by domestic partnerships I’m going to lose my mind.

I have been following the coverage on tv, on the radio, online and in print.  I suppose one might call this obsessive, but I tend to take it very personally when the citizens of this country get together to vote on whether or not I am wanted here.  I’m sensitive like that.  Call me crazy.

I’m used to hearing from the other side ~ the side that would roll back all of the civil rights advances the LGBT community has made in the past few decades.  I’m used to their lies, their hate.  I’m used to taking deep breaths and reminding myself that their job is easier than ours ~ that misunderstanding is easier to ignite than understanding ~ that teaching is a marathon and hate is a sprint.  I’m used to it.  I’m used to hearing untrue things said about me on a daily basis and watching as people spew their lies from credible platforms, giving their hateful rhetoric the sheen of meaningful, thoughtful opinion.  I’m used to it.  It is what it is.

What has driven me nearly apoplectic listening to the coverage are the voices that come from our allies as they discuss the sad fact that Amendment One will nullify all domestic partnerships ~ ie. it’s going to affect straight people.  Oh no!  Horror of horrors!  It’s going to affect straight people!!!  (Witness Bill Clinton’s robocall.)  I’m sick and tired of hearing about how families ~ straight families ~ will be harmed by this amendment.  I keep hearing about health insurance and the children of domestic partnerships.  I keep hearing about the fact that these families are going to be legally torn apart and how horrible that will be.  You know what?  I don’t give a shit!  This amendment is intended to ensure that no gay relationships are legally recognized.  Ever.  It’s a bigoted Constitutional amendment meant to sit on top of an already existing bigoted law.  Its purpose is to ensure that LGBT citizens are pushed to the margins.  Period.  End of story.  It is mean-spirited and spiteful and ultimately seeks to amend not just the constitution, but the very existence of gay people from the state of North Carolina.  Its purpose is to destroy gay families, create insurmountable legal obstacles for us and perpetuate a social climate so hostile that it is nearly impossible to live there.  This amendment says, “You are not welcome here.”  That is the point!  Why isn’t that the story?   Frankly, I don’t care that some straight families will be adversely affected.  For starters, they can get married!  Can the same be said for gay couples?  So you’ll pardon me if I don’t shed a tear for the straight families that are collateral damage to the perpetual blitzkriegs gay families endure.

At the end of the day, pass or fail, there will still be a legal system in place for straight couples to wrap themselves in.

Watch the video below to witness one story ~ one of many ~ of the consequences of having nothing to wrap yourself in.