Jimmy Creech: A member of the Support Team who accompanied couples during the WE DO Campaign in both Durham and Winston-Salem, NC. A long-time advocate for LGBT equality, Jimmy is the author of Adam’s Gift: A Memoir of a Pastor’s Calling to Defy the Church’s Persecution of Lesbians and Gays.
I was where I wanted to be, needed to be on May 9th – in front of the Durham County Register of Deeds office in downtown Durham with Joyce and Michele, Barb and Ann, Meg and Sarah, and the Campaign for Southern Equality’s We Do Campaign.
The day before more than 60 percent of voters in North Carolina’s primary election amended the State Constitution to define marriage between one man and one woman as the only domestic legal union that is valid and recognized in North Carolina. The amendment was a malicious act of violence against the dignity and integrity of same-gender loving couples, demeaning their love and constitutionally denying them the possibility of the rights and protections of marriage. Across the state, many people – gay and non-gay – worked hard to defeat the amendment, but the bigotry, pervasive and harsh, prevailed. The success of the amendment hurts deeply.
But, nothing was really taken away. By law, North Carolina already denied marriage to same-gender couples. While shameful, the amendment only moved the law into the constitution. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people had been personally assaulted by the vote, but no rights and protections had been withdrawn. Marriage equality didn’t exist before the vote on May 8th, just as it doesn’t exist now.
I was disappointed and saddened, but not surprised by the vote. I grew up in Eastern North Carolina and understand the role the Christian church plays in perpetuating social prejudice in the guise of morality. I knew it would be hard to overcome the preachers and religious leaders who misused the Bible and religious tradition to deny full and equal human and civil rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. I’d seen it done in the past to people of color, women and religious minorities. Even so, I was hopeful that this time we could prevent an act of violence committed in the name of God. We could not.
The passage of the marriage amendment was a defeat of our fight against it, not of the movement for equality. Marriage equality, and all other rights and protections promised by the Constitution of the United States to everyone, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, continues to be our goal. It’s a realistic goal that will be achieved because of same-gender couples like Joyce and Michele, Barb and Ann, and Meg and Sara who courageously affirmed the dignity and integrity of their committed relationships by requesting marriage licenses in Durham on May 9th, the day following passage of the anti-gay marriage amendment, knowing they would be denied, but refusing to accept second-class citizenship.
The Campaign for Southern Equality’s WE DO Campaign sends a clear message that same-gender loving couples have not and will not surrender their dignity and their belief in the holiness of their love, even when bigotry is entrenched and vicious. They will not concede the U.S. Constitution’s declaration of equality and promise of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” to all but themselves. They believe they have no less dignity and are no less worthy of respect because they are same-gender loving.
I needed to witness Joyce and Michele’s, Barb and Ann’s, and Meg and Sarah’s acts of courage and dignity on May 9th to be reminded of what the struggle is about, how crucial it is, and that it’s not over because the amendment passed. I needed to see their strength, faith and love so that I could rise above the violence and hurt of the amendment and confirm that the movement for equality continues. I’m glad I was there.
– Jimmy Creech
