Opponents of a proposed North Carolina
amendment that would ban gay marriage said Saturday they worry that
the debate could turn ugly.
Earlier this month, the North Carolina
General Assembly approved a constitutional amendment that would ban
gay marriage in the state and sent it to voters for their approval in
May. The legislation moved from House committee to final approval in
the Senate in roughly 26 hours. All together, lawmakers spent less
than six hours debating the issue and blocked the public from
debating on the divisive legislation.
At Durham's annual Gay Pride Parade,
supporters told WRAL
that they were planning to keep the debate positive.
“We intend to keep the rhetoric
positive. This is about marriage, the protection of marriage,”
said Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the North Carolina Values
Coalition. “We expect a groundswell of support from people across
the state because the polls tell us that people care very deeply
about protecting marriage from being redefined.”
Chris Fitzsimon, executive director of
North Carolina Policy Watch, said he wasn't so sure: “I think,
unfortunately, there will be a number of opportunities for demeaning
speech. I think we've had, generally, a deserved reputation as a
progressive southern state and I think that's at stake here.”
“We're going to actually vote and
have a majority decide the rights of a minority in North Carolina,”
he added. “That's not what the constitution is for.”
Fitzsimon has reason to worry. In
comments made at public forums, lawmakers have compared gay
people to a “cesspool,” argued that gay
marriage would open the door to incest and polygamy, and called
gay
people “unhealthy.”