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IanFisherSecondPaper 3 - 03 Jul 2012 - Main.IanFisher
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Introduction | |
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< | On May 8th, 2012, North Carolina voters passed the state constitutional Amendment One, also referred to as The Marriage Amendment. While clearly banning gay marriage and civil unions, the full impact of this amendment remains to be seen and will likely require the North Carolina courts to interpret its application in a variety of settings. This essay will discuss the process in which this amendment has passed. I will argue that what occurred in North Carolina was not a fair process and allowing North Carolina or other states to amend their constitutions based on this unfair process with language that produces such a large effect on a minority group goes against the principles of justice and equality. | >
> | On May 8th, 2012, North Carolina voters passed the state constitutional Amendment One, also referred to as The Marriage Amendment. On the surface, the amendment bans gay marriage as well as same sex civil unions (which many voters were unaware of). However, the full impact of this amendment remains to be seen and will likely require the North Carolina courts to interpret its application in a variety of settings including opposite sex unions and domestic violence protections. This essay will discuss the process in which this amendment has passed. What occurred in North Carolina was not a fair process and allowing North Carolina or other states to amend their constitutions based on this unfair process with language that greatly effects a minority group goes against the principles of justice and equality. | | | In 2011, the sponsors of Amendment One created a legislature initiated amendment. They followed the procedures laid out in Article XIII Section 6 of the North Carolina constitution. The proposed amendment was heard three times and it was approved by three-fifths of all members of each house. The legislature voted to put the amendment to public vote and set the vote to be during the May primary election. In that election the amendment passed by a 61% majority and it will be added to the North Carolina constitution January 1. | | | Another problem with the passing of the amendment involves its wording, its impact, and the voters' understanding of these. It is described by its sponsors and supporters as a marriage amendment, and many believe the bill is only about outlawing gay marriage. However, due to the amendment’s wording, it actually does much more than that. A poll conducted a week before the vote showed that only 40% of voters knew the amendment banned both gay marriage and civil unions (http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_NC_050112.pdf). This poll further suggested that when people were informed of this, they tended to change their view (http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_NC_050112.pdf). Legal scholars have argued about the full effect of the amendment with no conclusions reached on certain issues beyond gay marriage and civil unions. When these issues arise, it will likely fall on the courts to provide an interpretation that cannot currently be predicted accurately. If people studying the law cannot agree on the amendment's effect, it is very unlikely the general population understood it. However, the population was asked to vote on adding it into the constitution based on their limited and erroneous knowledge of it. The responsibility for understanding the amendment can be put on the voters. However, with respect to an important constitutional amendment, that was worded so confusingly (perhaps intentionally), this argument does not take away from the injustice of the amendment’s passing.
Conclusion | |
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< | No matter what perspective the amendment is analyzed from, its biggest impact is on a small proportion of the population. In a country that was supposedly founded based on equality, allowing a minority’s rights to be effected by a majority vote in the manner it was in North Carolina on May 8 appears hypocritical and wrong. North Carolina is not unique among the states with the passage of a “marriage amendment”. Many states throughout the country have passed similar constitutional amendments using their amendment procedures. Many of these involved a majority voting on the rights of a minority group, with political games played by the politicians, and the electorate having imperfect information about the full effect of the amendment. Even before deciding on the content of these amendments, the process by which they were passed and the process by which similar amendments may be passed in the future should be reexamined to help prevent an injustice from occurring. | >
> | No matter what perspective the amendment is analyzed from, its biggest impact is on a small proportion of the population. In a country that was supposedly founded based on equality, allowing a minority’s rights to be restricted by a majority vote in the manner it was in North Carolina on May 8 is hypocritical and wrong. A "marriage amendment" such as this is not unique among the states. Many states throughout the country have passed similar constitutional amendments using their amendment procedures. Many of these involved a majority voting on the rights of a minority group, with political games played by the politicians, and the electorate having imperfect information about the full effect of the amendment. Even before deciding on the content of these amendments, the process by which they were passed and the process by which similar amendments may be passed in the future should be reexamined to help prevent such an injustice from occurring. | | |
Eben, I'd like to edit this based on your comments. Thanks. |
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