Anti-gay amendment introduced in N.C. Senate

N.C. State Sen. Jim Forrester introduced an anti-LGBT, anti-marriage constitutional amendment on May 14, as the state legislature returned for its biennial short session.

RALEIGH — On May 14, anti-gay N.C. State Sen. Jim Forrester (R-Gaston) introduced to the N.C. Senate an anti-family, anti-marriage constitutional amendment. The state legislature returned to their biennial short session on Tuesday of this week — only one day prior to the introduction of Forrester’s bill.

Forrester has introduced the anti-gay constitutional amendment in each of the past four legislative sessions. The statewide Equality North Carolina and its allies have managed to block the bill each time.

“”We can’t let our guard down this year,” said Ian Palmquist, Equality North Carolina executive director. “The far right would like nothing better than to put this amendment on the ballot and turn out radical conservative voters for the 2008 elections. We can’t let Sen. Forrester and his cronies play politics with our lives, our rights, and our families.”

A similar bill is expected to be introduced in the House, according to Palmquist. House and Senate leadership have traditionally steered clear of dealing with the controversy. In the past, leadership has chucked the bill into dead-end legislative committees.

During a press conference on Tuesday, House and Senate minority leaders Sen. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and Rep. Paul “Skip” Stam (R-Wake) outlined their plans for the short session. The constitutional amendment was not included in their list of priorities. Q-Notes is awaiting comment from Berger’s office.

As reported by Q-Notes and this writer’s InterstateQ.com, Forrester’s wife, Mary Frances Forrester, penned an anti-gay op-ed on the website of the Christian Action League on Feb. 29. In it, she outlined various factually inaccurate claims and mistakenly attributed quoted content.

The Christian Action League later issued statements clarifying and correcting Mary Frances Forrester’s inaccurate statements.

Both Forrester and his wife are actively involved with organizations linked to fundamentalist Christianity.