Southerners On New Ground responds to Amendment One
Southerners On New Ground (SONG), a Task Force partner, issued a statement in response to the passage of Amendment One:
People across North Carolina took to the polls in defense of our communities. … Regardless of the seeds of division and intolerance planted by NC Representative Paul Stam, we will not let the livelihood, safety and dignity of our children, elders and families be used as disposable pawns in a political game.
We are disappointed that divisive messages were cemented with the passage of this highly controversial and unconstitutional Amendment, but we declare victory for our families. 160 organizations, thousands of volunteers, and countless people took risks to stand up for non-discrimination in the state of NC. LGBTQ communities, and our families, friends, neighbors and allies stood their ground alongside each other, staking out a critical victory: the people of this state pushed back against an Amendment that worked to exclude North Carolinians rather than expand Constitutional protections for all.
“We are proud of what we were able to build in North Carolina: multi-racial, multi-generational, multi-faith coalitions grew and expanded, small towns all across North Carolina stood up against Amendment One, and thousands of communities engaged in neighbor-to-neighbor dialogue about having equal protections under the law and about what it means to decide who you build family with, says SONG Co-Director Caitlin Breedlove.
Across North Carolina, this Amendment fight solidified and strengthened our commitment to push back on hateful lies about who we are. “We are delighted to be part of coalitions that break racist stereotypes about communities of Color being more homophobic. We stand with affirming hundreds of Black Churches and Faith Leaders, and we celebrate the massive turnout for early voting all across North Carolina, with an unprecedented 500,000 votes cast the day before the polls opened,” stated Bishop Donagrant McCluney, SONG NC Field Organizer.
We have a lot of work to do to dismantle hate-filled legislation that restricts all people’s rights, no matter whose. Representative Paul Stam already railed against the Racial Justice Act. We urge LGBTQ folks across NC, as well as our friends, families, and allies to vote Representative Stam out of office in the upcoming November elections. With our partners in this battle, including Equality NC, SONG will be part of statewide town halls over the next few months to continue building communities committed to justice. We invite all our neighbors, communities, and families to celebrate our accomplishments and move forward together.
SONG also released a video response. Watch:
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/41802835]
