Dear North Carolina Voters

Dear Voters of North Carolina:

You blew it.

We all knew you would.  Every state that has tried to constitutionalize discrimination against homosexuals has pulled it off.  If California couldn’t defeat Prop 8, what hope did you have?

Now let me be clear, I’m not talking to the people who went to the polls and voted against Amendment One.  I’m talking to the 61% of the public that voted to ban not only gay marriage but civil unions and domestic partnerships.  You, specifically, blew it.  Every one of you.

You took it too far and you didn’t even know what you were doing.  A majority of N.C. voters said they supported civil unions between gay partners and yet, fewer than 50% of voters understood that Amendment One would ban such unions.

This, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is why the majority should not be allowed to make laws regarding civil rights.  Whenever the majority is given the opportunity to weigh in on the rights of other people – rights the majority already enjoys – they blow it.

The National Organization for Marriage know this.  They may be the worst named organization ever given all they do is push for amendments opposing gay marriage but they know that if they leave it up to the majority, the majority will screw things up every time.  Fortunately for NOM, that is exactly what they want.

I wish I wasn’t so annoyed at you, voters of North Carolina.  I know that you are pawns in a larger initiative to make it harder for homosexuals to enter into a legal marriage.  It is harder to overturn a constitutional amendment than it is to change a law.  It is also easier to get an amendment passed because the majority doesn’t give a fuck about civil rights that aren’t theirs.

All you people who voted for the amendment – do you really care?  I mean, did you think that it would impact your life in any measurable way?  Or did the idea of a couple of men kissing in public squick you out a just little bit?

I’ll bet it was the latter.

And I’ll bet that’s what NOM figured as well.

They played you.  They are playing us all.

So, when I allow the rage to subside, I won’t blame you for screwing it up. Right now, though, I have to admit that I’m pretty pissed.

Someday, you are going to find out that you screwed over a friend or a family member that you never knew was gay.  Maybe you will finally be honest with yourself and come out of the closet. When you do, and you remember the vote you made to ensure they (or you) would always be afforded fewer rights than all the straight people in your state, I hope you feel like a royal asshole.  Becuase you are.

Next, the people who played you are going to play Minnesota voters.  Let’s hope we manage to be the first state in the union to tell NOM to concentrate on their own marriages for once.

Then, somewhere down the road, you folks in North Carolina will get the opportunity to fix your monumental mistake.

P.S: For another take on North Carolina, go read what Bill Young said.  He’s funnier than me.  He’s also Jesus.