Small towns succeed where states fail
North Carolina Town Votes to Support Same Sex Marriage Rights
On Tuesday the town of Carrboro, NC, population approximately 19,000, made a significant step in civil rights: The Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted 5-0 to support civil marriage for same-sex couples.
Earlier in the month, in response to California’s Proposition 8 which eliminated same-sex marriage, and Arizona’s prop 102 and Florida’s Prop 2 prohibiting same-sex marriage, board member Jackie Gist proposed a resolution of the board’s support of civil marriage for same-sex couples. The resolution reads:
The Election Day victories by anti-gay activists in California, Florida, Arizona and Arkansas were a painful reminder that the gay rights movement still faces many challenges. Civil marriage for same-sex couples must include all the benefits commonly bestowed upon opposite-sex couples, including, among other rights, health care coverage and related decision-making, privileges under immigration and naturalization law, survivor benefits, inheritance rights and child custody.
Carrboro–located close to Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina– likes to refer itself as the Seattle of the South or Paris of the Piedmonts. The town boast a lively arts community and lots of live music, a poetry festival and an annual Community Dinner to celebrate the county’s diversity, plus a fishing rodeo! Carrboro’s move to support same sex marriage will hopefully inspire other communities around the country, not just in affected states, to speak up and take similar action.
10. December 2008 um 14:02
Sorry I didn't read this earlier. I had an exam to prepare for. What's nice about Carrboro, that one of the most recent mayors was openly gay. As the article points out, Carrboro is near UNCC. When our “honorable” Jesse Helms said, “the UNCC campus needed a fence placed around it, to keep the freaks in!”, he was including Carrboro!