North Carolina State Senator James
Forrester, the sponsor of the state's gay marriage ban, has allegedly
told a lesbian she should move to New York.
Forrester has tried over the past eight
years to get his constitutional amendment that would ban gay and
lesbian couples from marrying through the General Assembly. On
Tuesday, lawmakers
decided to put the question up for a vote in May.
Jodie Devall Dean, who resides in
Forrester's district, shared the details of her telephone
conversation with Forrester in a
blog post on Facebook.
“I just got off the phone with MY
senator, Mr. James Forrester, and to say that I am livid … well,
that's just because I am trying to keep my composure.”
“I asked him what's wrong with [gay
marriage] and he replied 'It's against God.'”
Dean said she informed Forrester that
she was a lesbian mother in a relationship with her partner of seven
years.
“I asked how my relationship might
affect his marriage or anyone else's, his only answer was that it was
against God.”
When Dean asked Forrester whether he
had looked into New York's anticipated revenue from gay marriage,
Forrester responded: “Well, maybe you should move to New York.”
Forrester added that the majority of
North Carolinians don't want “homosexuality and lesbianism in their
state.”
(Related: Standing
ovation for James Forrester after saying gay people are “unhealthy.”)