On Saturday February 11, 2012, Unity Fellowship Church Charlotte hosted PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) for a panel discussion about the potential harms of Amendment One. On September 13, 2011, the North Carolina Legislature proposed an amendment to the State Constitution that would ban legal recognition for all unmarried couples, strip protections and benefits from families across our state, hurt our business climate and economic development and put our children in danger. The panelists were from West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Texas and Washington, DC.
With the exception of West Virginia (because while they had never had an amendment presented, they did have great protections for ALL families in their state), each of the panelists discussed hardships to their citizens and presented no measurable benefits to the State.
Amendment One, if passed, would affect Heterosexual and LGBT unmarried couples by denying basic rights of healthcare protection, adoption, wills, and domestic violence prosecution. A question was posed to the panel by Bishop Tonyia Rawls; “Based on what you learned from your state’s anti LGBT/family amendment, what things can NC do to protect our constitution and ALL of our citizens?”
Panelists suggested the following:1. VOTE NO ON AMENDMENT ONE on May 8, 2012
2. Give people permission to “struggle” with the issue.
3. Talk about the “wrongs” that this amendment presents and the potential harms that would result from its passage
4. Have diversity in the voice and faces presented in the outreachefforts and informational materials
5. Make it personal. Talk honestly about how it affects you.
6. Don’t vote if you are unsure of the issue. Make it a point to educate yourself.
7. Get to know the people that effect the change, i.e., Senators, Representatives, community opinion leaders
8. Talk about the issue via FBmflyers, phone calls, twitter or word of mouth
