According to several preliminary reports, North Carolina has just become the 30th state in the American Union to ban same sex marriage. To be fair, the state constitutional amendment doesn’t actually mention gay marriage. But the language of the amendment is definitely meant to prevent them.
The actual text as taken from The Guardian reads, “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognised in this state."
Truth be told, I’m not even remotely surprised by the decision. During the Civil War, North Carolina provided the Confederacy with over 150,000 troops. Since then they’ve continued to be the one of the most sexist, racist, homophobic and generally hateful states in the nation. This amendment is just another in a long line of incredibly fucked up decisions made by the people and government of that state.
I’m not surprised by the decision and I’m also not upset about either. I know I probably should be super pissed about this but I’m just not. Sure, it sucks. But at this point in the battle, gay rights opponents are just acting like pissed off children. They’re simply throwing tantrums in a rather unfortunate attempt to hold on to their bigotry for just a little bit longer.
The fact of the matter is that the majority of the American population is for same-sex marriage and gay equality in general. Therefore it’s only a matter of time before us gays can say “I do” and have it recognized around the country. North Carolina is definitely a setback. But it’s not enough to change the tide of public opinion, which has shifted to the side of equality.
Every battle for human rights has its share of disappointments and setbacks. The bigots won this round using their arsenal of sneaky and back-handed tactics. In a fair fight, they could have not prevailed. So let them have this one, we will soon have it all.
