Hello Ashevillians! Just a friendly reminder here to vote on Tuesday May 8th. I know voting in the primaries isn't the cool thing to do but there is one big reason I encourage everyone to vote in this election: Amendment One. This amendment will make legal marriage between a man and woman the only recognized legal union, which could have many far reaching effects which I will discuss at the end of the post for those who want more information.

In the meantime, here is the website to go to find out where you can vote. And here is a great place to get information about the candidates in your areas.

Something to note about party affiliation: if you are registered, regardless of party affiliation, you will vote for/against the amendment. If you are registered in a certain party, you will vote for/against the amendment AND in your party's primary. If you are registered unaffiliated (independent): when you arrive to vote, they will ask if you want to vote in one of the primaries or only for the amendment. This means you can choose a party to vote in the primary for and (as far as I was informed and what Buncombe County says) the amendment, and retain your independent status. If you, as unaffiliated, choose not to vote in the primary, you will only vote for/against the amendment.

Admittedly Biased Amendment One Information Coming Up!

First, it is important to understand that NC State Law already bans homosexual marriage. Two people of the same sex cannot get married in NC. The actual effect of this Amendment will only be to harm people who are both same sex and opposite partners and children. Amendment One will amend the Constitution to provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State. A very brief overview of what this could mean:

Domestic violence protections will only provide for married or divorced partners

Currently, DV law provides protections for six different "personal relationships", (1) current or former spouses; (2) persons of the opposite sex who live together or have lived together; (3) parents and children and grandparents and grandchildren, including persons acting in loco parentis to a minor child; (4) people who have a child in common; (5) current or former household members; and (6) people of the opposite sex who are in a dating relationship or have been in a dating relationship. If A1 passes, the courts could interpret it to mean that only married or divorced partners should be covered under DV law because to give any other partners protection would be to acknowledge their "domestic union" and therefore violate the amendment. This is what happened in Ohio when they passed a similar law.

Amendment One would revoke health care for domestic partners and children across the state who receive health benefits as a result of a domestic partnership

Many local governments and private companies across the state currently allow domestic partners (both same and opposite sex) to pay for health care benefits for their partners and children. If A1 passes, these benefits will be revoked because to allow them would be to violate the amendment. This means an employee at Mission Hospital currently receives health care benefits and pays for their partner and the partner's child's benefits. When Amendment One passes, the partner and the child will both be without health care.

Amendment One will prevent domestic partners from participating in end of life care and decisions

Domestic partners (both same and opposite sex) would be barred from decisions such wills, trusts, financial decisions when the partner is incapacitated, visiting their partner in the hospital, making decisions about burial or emergency medical decisions.

This means that even if someone goes through all the proper legal channels to award all of these rights to their domestic partner (again, same sex or opposite sex), the courts could decide that honoring the decision that the partner made would be violating the amendment and deny them those rights. It seems crazy but states like Ohio, Michigan and Nebraska all have amendments like this on the books and have ruled that giving any provisions or protections to any relationship other than heterosexual marriage would be in violation of the amendment.

Source: UNC Chapel Hill Law Reviews of the amendment

I would certainly love to answer questions anyone has as I tried to keep this brief! Vote on Tuesday!