Senate Bill Puts Marriage at Risk
For the first time in history, on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 the North Carolina Senate voted to add the terms "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to state law. By a vote of 25–22, Senate Bill 526–School Violence Prevention Act, sponsored by Sen. Julia Boseman (D-New Hanover), passed 2nd reading. The final Senate vote is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6. The bill is commonly referred to as the "Bully Bill" and includes a section that enumerates certain classes of people that could be bullied. The bill says in part:
"Bullying of harassing behavior includes, but is not limited to, acts reasonably perceived as being motivated by any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, socioeconomic status, academic status, gender identity, physical appearance, sexual orientation, or mental, physical, developmental, or sensory disability, or by association with a person who has or is perceived to have one or more of these characteristics."
Some lawyers that have looked at this language see troubles for the schools in the form of numerous lawsuits. Nowhere in the bill are the terms "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" defined. Other attorneys have pointed out how such language was used as justification by courts in California, Connecticut, and Iowa to strike down Defense of Marriage Acts (DOMAs) and institute "same-sex marriage."
Less than a year ago, after receiving a bill from the House of Representatives that included these terms, the Senate stripped the entire enumeration section and sent the bill back to the House. At that time, the House leadership was unwilling to accept the amended version and the bill was referred to a committee where it died on the last day of the 2008 session.
How things have changed in the Senate in such a short time.
The vote today was along party lines with Democrats voting for the measure and Republicans voting against. The exception were three Democrats who voted against the measure. They were Sen. Snow, Sen. Hoyle, and Sen. Swindell. Our hats are off to them.
It should be noted that the Republican Leader, Sen. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), offered an amendment to the bill that would substitute the language from a similar bill introduced in the House of Representatives with 62 cosponsors—that did not include the enumerations section. Sen. Julia Boseman then offered a substitute amendment which made a small change to the bill and when it passed 26-22, it wiped out the Berger amendment.
The motion to table a subsequent amendment by Sen. Eddie Goodall (R-Union) was made by Rules Committee Chairman, Sen. Tony Rand (D-Cumberland) and passed by a 26-22 vote.
Immediately after the bill passed, a group of about 20 lobbyists and supporters of the bill gathered outside the Senate chamber for a little celebration.
