I am Tom McKinney and I practice law in Rock Hill, SC. That has given me the privilege and opportunity of being a part of what I consider to be the greatest judicial system in the world. I have practiced for over 40 years, I am married, and I have two sons and three grandchildren.
I want to inform you as to why I am here today opposing the pre-filed bills concerning gay and lesbian rights and the constitutional amendment on marriage.
As a young boy, I attended an all-white grammar school in the Warrior Creek community between Gray Court and Laurens, SC. I then attended an all-white high school called Gray Court-Owens. I also attended the all-white Warrior Creek Baptist Church of which my dad was pastor.
Later, I attended and graduated in 1958 from Manning high school in Clarendon County. My dad was pastor of the all-white Clarendon Baptist Church in Alcolu, SC.
While in Clarendon County, I took potluck with farmers in Summerton, Manning, Alcolu, and other communities in the area. I saw first-hand the subservient place of the black people in the community and gradually came to an understanding of the evil of servitude and segregation.
I read books that influenced me: books about Clarence Darrow and other famous lawyers. I decided to become a lawyer and represent people who were down and out, mistreated, and discriminated against. Little did I know that the next 40 years of my practice would include not only the defense of people but also the constant defense of our great judicial system and our constitution? I saw and knew about racial discrimination, and I detested it. I fought against it. I didn't know back then that my beliefs came from the realization that blacks were born black and did not choose to be, but I realized that they were human beings just like all of us, and that the discrimination of them was simply wrong.
At Furman University, I was associated primarily with the athletes on campus. Once a few of us went into Greenville for a night out and what I later learned was a gay bashing for a couple of the boys. They bragged about what they did to the gays. I had never knowingly known a gay person, but again, I had strong feelings of injustice about what I had seen and heard. In a simple and naive way, I began to understand that discrimination existed in more than just race.
I met a gay student who was shunned and ridiculed by my associates. I saw in him a sensitive, smart and contributing human being. In spite of my fundamentalist Baptist upbringing, I developed a belief that homosexuals were born homosexuals and did not choose to be, just as I did not choose to be born heterosexual and white.
With this conviction, it was very easy for me to believe very strongly that discrimination of homosexuals was simply wrong. Like discrimination against blacks, discrimination against homosexuals was most often justified by biblical interpretations.
Some time before all of this, some very strong and brave people had given my mom her rights as a woman. In the marital relationship, even the government created certain rights for her. Even so, based on biblical interpretations, some women of today are not afforded equal rights and are considered subservient to their husbands. I respect the rights of people to have these views, but I believe they should remain consensual
and religious views and that government should not interfere unless there is restraint of a woman's freedom that is not consented to by her.
My father taught me fundamental Baptist beliefs, and as a result, fundamental right and wrong. My beliefs were based on teachings from the Bible, i.e., love thy neighbor as thyself; for God so loved the world; do unto others as you would have them do unto you; be a good Samaritan; turn the other cheek; faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love; you without fault cast the first stone; judge not that ye be not
Judged " What would Jesus do? I have tried my best to live by these principles.
I am here to oppose these bills because it is fundamentally wrong to deny gays equal rights and protection under our law. South Carolina is on the verge once again of passing discriminating laws and disenfranchising a large group of its contributing citizens. This is just as we have done in years past by passing laws of segregation and discrimination relating to ethnic minorities and women, all of which we now regret. We need not make the same mistakes again. As individuals, we must have the courage to stand up for what is right and just. We must not just follow the crowd into injustice, hatred, intolerance and exclusion.
I'm here to try to convince you and my other representatives to stop and withdraw these pre-filed bills that so clearly make homosexuals feel no more than second-class citizens.
I love South Carolina and I want others to love it, also. South Carolina will once again be ridiculed as a "backward" state if these exclusionary laws pass. How great it would be and how much more proud I would be if others looked at South Carolina as an open and loving state and one that proves its value by its acts. I believe our constitution should be a document of inclusion, not exclusion--a document of positives, not negatives.
This is Mark. He is my son. He was born gay. This is Steve. He is my son's partner of 14 years. They own their own home in Mt. Pleasant, SC. They have their own business in Mt. Pleasant, SC. They pay local, state and federal taxes. They purchase goods in SC. They contribute their time, efforts and money to many charities including, but not limited to, charities for the homeless and sexually abused children. They contribute to the arts. They have friends both heterosexual and homosexual. They have family. They love and take care of each other. I love them.
TESTIMONY FROM MARK MCKINNEY (Son)
First I would like to tell my father how proud I am of him for always standing up to what is fair and just. I grew up in a family where fundamental rights and wrongs were constantly discussed. My father taught me that you must stand up and fight for the underserved. My mother wanted to be here today, but she is at her home in Litchfield awaiting hip surgery on February 10th.
My name is Mark McKinney. I am 34 years old. My partner, Steve Lepre, and I live in Mount Pleasant. We have been a monogamous couple for 14 years living in South Carolina. We are good neighbors, we are taxpayers and we are a family.
For the first 16 years of my life, I lived in Rock Hill and attended Northwestern High School.
Growing up, I knew that I was gay. I hid it. I lied and dated girls. In fact, for a while, I dated Mary Ruth Dobson. Ironically, she later married one of the authors of this bill, Gary Simrill. Last night, for the first time in probably 15 years, I opened my yearbook from high school. In it, Mary Ruth Simrill wrote: (quote) " I would not have been able to make it through this year without your support. Stay as special as you are now and life will give you the best it has to offer. Love you always. Mary Ruth." (end quote)
Needless to say, the story comes to a happy conclusion. As a teenager, I moved away from South Carolina and we did not get married. I now pose a hypothetical question to each you...Would ANY of you want a man who is hiding his sexuality to marry your daughter??
In 1991, after years of hiding, I decided to tell my family about my sexuality. There were a couple of years of Shock and Awe. And we worked it out as any family does. My mother spoke to mothers of other gay men....My godmother spoke her mind, as she always does. Steve's and my love testified our commitment to our family,
In 1994 I began working at a Charleston television station as a meteorologist. My job was to inform the public (on a daily basis) of weather events, be they hurricanes, severe thunderstorms or sunny days. For eight years, I was on-air every morning and it was my civic and professional obligation to keep our community aware of weather events. And my employers and viewers trusted me to give them accurate information. I was never a "gay" weatherman.
I chose to become a meteorologist in South Carolina for a few reasons. First, I love this state. I grew up here and have a deep connection to the marshes and the oceans and the unpredictable weather. My family lives here. And finally, it is where my partner and I have built a home together.
Let's skip to present day. My partner and I own a home in Mount Pleasant. We operate our own business. We have created a home in our wonderful state. Our friends and family live here, and we do too.
The verbiage of this legislation reeks of Loving vs. Virginia in 1958, do you really want your name attached to it?:
"If any white person and colored person shall go out of this state, for the purpose of being married, and with the intention of returning, and be married out of it, and afterwards return to reside in it, cohabitating as man and wife, they shall be punished."
The ruling said: "Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix."
Before this bill goes any further, think about the state's finances. If this bill passes, there will be people who leave South Carolina and there will be lawsuits. Do each of you want to have your name on a bill that in 10-20-50-100 years will be obsolete and dead.
Separate but equal never works.
In conclusion, yesterday I spoke to my cousin, who is from Florence and attends USC law school. We talked briefly about these proposed bills, he asked, "Do they know how much money this is going to cost this state? I'm taking a Constitutional Law course right now, and this issue is going to come down to the bottom line." Do you really want to pass legislation that we know is going to cost this wonderful state millions of dollars in the long run? Please sleep on it.
TESTIMONY FROM STEVE LEPRE (Mark's partner)
My name is Steve Lepre and I reside in Mount Pleasant South Carolina. I have lived in fear, I have been called queer, faggot, an abomination and a militant homosexual, as a child I was bullied and now today, at the age of 44, I find that I am about to become a 2nd class citizen of this state. That is something this American heart cannot take.
I come here today as a citizen of South Carolina. I speak with the patriotic heart of an American citizen. I come here today in great sadness. I believe strongly that the fabric of our country is like the American Flag behind you, each citizen a thread. When we seek to marginalize any one group of citizens we begin to pull threads from our flag, which in turn weakens our nation. We cannot start pulling threads out of the American flag and expect this country to stay unified and strong. It is my firm belief that the religious freedom we enjoy in this country comes with a caveat: that being the civil rights of all Americans come first. We cannot have one without the other.
H-3133 is an extremely personal issue. We love this state. Our family lives here as well as our lifelong friendships established and forever etched into our lives. A question arises: When did South Carolina become backwards in it's thinking? Part of the reason I moved here was because of the firsts this state brought to our country. I look to Charles Pinckney, a framer of the American Constitution. Anita Pollitzer, of Charleston, press secretary for the National Woman's Organization, who traveled this country lobbying and eventually getting the 19th Amendment passed. Judge J. Waites Waring who put his personal beliefs and those of a vast majority of South Carolinians aside in judging Briggs vs Elliott who told Thurgood Marshall to amend his case which lead to Brown vs The Board of Education.
My partner, of 14 years, and myself are about to become second-class citizens of this state if H-3113 is passed. And what confuses me most about this whole debate is that: my monogamous 14-year relationship somehow threatens "traditional marriage." I can say in complete honesty: never have Mark and I had one conversation on how to destroy any heterosexual marriage. No gentlemen; traditional marriage's greatest threat is itself. Adultery, abuse, neglect, lack of respect, poverty, no-fault divorce these are the threats. In my humble opinion the proposed legislation does nothing to address these issues and traditional marriage is not being defended unless: ADULTRY (7th commandments) is a felony offence and DIVORCE is made illegal. We are all aware that the "traditional" family is in trouble, but putting up smokescreens such as same-sex marriage amendments only begs the question of what is failing the traditional family. Until marriage becomes a lifetime commitment in deed as well as in word it will continue to be in trouble.
The divorce statistics in our country give us quite an interesting snapshot. The state with the lowest divorce rates in the country is Massachusetts at 2.4 per capita and it is the only state that recognizes gay marriage. The figure in South Carolina 4.2 per capita. Since the passing of SC DOMA law in 1996 the South Carolina marriage rate has dropped from 11.9% in 1995 to 9.3% in 2002. I know first hand that adultery is destroying traditional marriages.
As Notary Public for South Carolina. I've been marrying people in this state for 18 years. I got my seal because I had a friend who was Jewish and her partner was Baptist. They wanted a civil ceremony so religion would not be a conflict. In the past couple of years couples who have come to me to perform secular services have commented "it's funny you can marry us but you and your partner can't get married."
I ask you this: How many tax dollars of mine that went into preparing this legislation?
What sort of tax breaks are you prepared to offer me as a 2nd class resident of this state? Why should I have to pay taxes for schools? Interestingly the state has never returned one of our checks for property taxes because it has both our names on it. So you will take our money but feel no obligation to represent us. That's how this country started: taxation without representation. You are putting us in a financial handicap. You are ensconcing sexual prejudice in our state constitution and for what? To appease those members of our state who hold one set of beliefs, gave thousands, no millions of dollars to your political party. Or is it just a schoolyard mentality of bullying those who are weaker because they will not fight back? No matter which; with this legislation I am about to enter the fight for my life, liberty and pursuit of happiness; indelibly etched in to our countries constitution.
I have been asked what is the alternative; what we will we settle for? My answer is this to each of you: " I will settle for nothing less than the rights and protections that you and you respective spouses and future spouses have."
Thank you.
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