The head of the Vote For Marriage NC campaign, Tami Fitzgerald worries that marriage equality in North Carolina will force businesses to "subsidize the homosexual lifestyle." GoodAsYou has audio of the interivew. Honestly, it's just so much anti-gay nonsense.
Of course, even if you agree with her point that equitable treatment of couples is "subsidizing a homosexual lifestyle," (which you shouldn't) it isn't a good reason to vote for this amendment, because marriage equality is already banned in North Carolina and will remain so even if Amendment One is voted down.
That aside, the reality is homosexuals are forced to subsidize the heterosexual lifestyle all the time. As tax season approached a number of outlets, such as ABC news drew attention to the fact that LGBT Americans are the ones doing the subsidizing by paying more than their heterosexual peers are required to pay:
The Tax Foundation estimates an average-income family gets about $16,781 in tax relief each year.
The report is a supplement to the "All Children Matter" report and was co-authored by the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), the Family Equality Council and the Center for American Progress -- all advocacy groups.
The report estimates that the LGBT families can be shortchanged anywhere between $1,490 and $6,209 a year, compared with heterosexual families.
"LGBT families raising kids have an unfair burden, simply because of what their families look like and who they love," said Emily Hecht McGowan, director of public policy at the Family Equity Council.
Passage of Amendment One would lock out any possibility of North Carolina to change their current policy to be more equitable, via say, civil unions or domestic partnerships. Fitzgerald confirms what the campaign has been saying since day one: Amendment One is the real threat to families and children.
The use of "homosexual lifestyle" is of course, the sort of standard homophobic nonsense that this anti-gay crowd spews all the time. And her point is the sort of sloppy, fuzzy, double-standard thinking that homophobes engage in all the time.
Because what Fitzgerald is not really talking about "subsidizing" the homosexual lifestyle, she'd talking about is perpetuating and codifying into the state constitution a system that "punishes" the homosexual lifestyle.
And why? To please Jesus.
This is what they think: their Bible should be used as the template for secular public policy.
If it's found that the Bible is a bad basis for secular public policy, resulting in children and families being economically disenfranchised by the secular government, well, that's just too bad. The greater good is being served by punishing gay people. And it's the gay people's fault, they should have "chosen" to be straight. Besides, it's the kids own fault for having gay parents, growing up in poverty will teach 'em!
Growing up with gay parents taught this one well:
Just not what Tami Fitzgerald wanted him to learn.
What you can do to help defeat Amendment One:
- Contribute to the campaign on ActBlue so they have the resources they need to get our message out.
- Sign up for a Courageous Conversation about Amendment One with someone you know in North Carolina.
- Follow the campaign on Facebook and Twitter.
- Download social media tools and yard signs to show your opposition to Amendment 1.
- Volunteer to Call for Equality—a national, virtual GOTV phone banking effort against Amendment 1.
- Sign up to help get out the vote in NC yourself! Courage Campaign is arranging out-of-state caravans and travel assistance is available.