There has been a lot of discussion in NC this week about “Amendment One,” which would make marriage between a man and a woman the “only legal domestic union recognized by the state of North Carolina.” The Amendment passed, which has led to many hateful statements for and against the new law. While I respect both sides, I think we are looking at this from the wrong perspective.
I am a traditional believer in that marriage is between a man and a woman, but I voted against the Amendment because I cannot support a law that discriminates against anyone. I am discriminated every day by the same laws that were designed to help people like me. According to SimplyHired.com, the average salary for a college graduate is $46,000. This college graduate is only allowed to make $12,000 a year according to the standard Social Security laws. It also gets pretty screwed up as far as income and health benefits if I were lucky enough to find someone I wanted to marry. So is Amendment One the first step in making it so people with disabilities cannot get married or have children? Maybe not, but a couple in Canada recently had to fight to keep their baby because they have Cerebral Palsy, so we have to keep our guard up.
My main question for all this anger caused by Amendment One is when did marriage become an objective of a financial plan? Any financial advisor would tell you insurance is a major part of a good financial plan. It just makes sense because you could have all your savings wiped out with one long hospital stay. I believe Amendment One came about with this underlying purpose.
On one hand, the insurance companies would rather sell more individual health plans instead of fewer family plans. Who can blame them? It’s just business, right? On the other hand, let’s say you cannot afford insurance, but your significant other has a good insurance plan you can join as a dependent. Well then get married, combine your incomes, have insurance, and start building your future. As with the insurance companies, it’s “just good business” for the individual.
So wouldn’t it make more sense to get a handle on insurance costs, so that individuals could afford it instead of making a law defining marriage? Whether you are gay or straight, if you truly love someone, does it really matter if a piece of paper recognizes it? I have always believed that if you truly love someone, it doesn’t matter what anyone says.
Yes, the Bible says marriage is between a man and a woman, but it doesn’t say anything about health insurance or tax write-offs. If you are gay, I am pretty sure it is going to be hard for you to find a Christian Minister to marry you in a church, but any jewelry store will sell you a ring. Nobody can tell you who you are allowed to love.
Many people are saying that they are ashamed to live in NC after this amendment was passed. I am proud of NC and how everyone stuck to their core beliefs when they voted. Regardless of your position on the Amendment, we are all very fortunate to have the right to vote on it. However, it is extremely unfortunate that the law was even written. Instead of going all Biblical and dividing our state with anger and hatred, we should have just looked at the costs of insurance and benefits of being married to see why our citizens even want the government’s permission to love someone.
