NC #Amendment1: Not Only Anti-Gay But Racist!

Previously I had blogged about the religious-based homophobia behind the backers of North Carolina's Amendment 1, which, if enacted, would ban any legal recognition of any relationship other than marriage between a man and a woman in the state.

Recently there comes word that Jodie Brunstetter,  the wife of Peter Brunstetter, one of the primary sponsors of the original Amendment in the State Legislature gave this astonishing reason for her and her husband's support of Amendment 1:

MICHAEL: 

“I had my back to her like this. She said, 'The reason my husband my husband wrote Amendment 1 was because the Caucasian race is diminishing and we need to uh, reproduce.” 

UNIDENTIFIED POLL WORKER: “(Mrs. Brunsetter said) … the Caucasian race is diminishing. ?The reason that's a problem is that it was white people that founded this country.” 

“She just wants a white majority so the good 'ol US of A can stay white.

And there you have it! Two great tastes that taste great together: religious-based homophobia and paranoid racism. Brought to you by the supporters and proponents of Amendment 1!

By the way, a poll released May 1st still has the ballot measure ahead by at least 14 points when election day is Tuesday May 8.


Public Policy Polling (which is based in Raleigh, NC) analyzes the latest trends:

-If the amendment ultimately passes it will have a lot to do with the fact that Republicans (76/21) are considerably more united in their support of it than Democrats (42/54) are in their opposition. Independents are split almost evenly, 48/46 in favor of the amendment.

-Support for the amendment is now more narrow among African Americans (53/43) than it is among white voters (56/41), suggesting that the efforts of the NAACP and other black leaders have had some impact in eroding support for it.

-Voters in the Triangle are opposed to the amendment by a 46/51 margin, while voters in eastern North Carolina support it 64/32. Voters in the Triad (55/42), metro Charlotte (54/40), and Mountains (55/39) track the statewide numbers pretty closely.

-There continues to be a massive generational gap with seniors (60/36) strongly in support of the amendment and young voters (33/59) strongly opposed.

The NC NAACP has released a statement condemning Mrs. Brundtsetter's remarks that Amendment 1 is  "to protect the Caucasian race":

The reality is that the extreme right wing forces behind this amendment are the same people waging a public policy campaign against African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, the poor and other minorities. Therefore, the alleged comments and the well-documented rationale represented in them are not surprising. They only serve to help connect the dots between a regressive, race-based strategy to pass Amendment One and the larger attack on the rights of minorities for the purpose of maintaining power in the hands of the few.

Should be a very interesting few days until May 8th!