Letters
Continued from page 6
through better evidence gathering and presen
tation of that evidence in a courtroom?
CAN, to my knowledge, has not been used
in modern times to arrest someone in the pri
vacy of their own home exclusively for sexual
practices. CAN may be invoked as part of a larger
assortment of charges, but the law has not been
used to target otherwise law-abiding GLBTs. (A
Greensboro News and Record article on the topic
noted that 400 people vvere charged with violat
ing CAN in North Carolina last year, but the
newspaper failed to note the types of circum
stances surrounding the majority of these arrests.)
Senate Bill 263 simply rewrites CAN to
accomodate how it is currently being used by
law enforcement and prosecutors: it does noth
ing to further a tolerant and safe climate for
GLBTs in North Carolina.
The real purpose behind the law — and the
one that I find so objectionable — is that it
puts the State of North Carolina in the busi
ness of defining what types of sexual conduct
are normal and abnormal. By far, the most dam
aging aspect of CAN for most GLBTs is the
image it projects — CAN acts as a large “Gays
Not Welcome Here” sign for anyone thinking
of visiting or moving to the Old North State.
It’s the psychological damage that the Senate
Bill does not address.
It still allows Radical Conservatives in the
state to use the General Statutes as a morality
stick. Having characters in your new play talk
about having oral sex? The Conservative Con
tent Police can try to close down your produc
tion, saying that this form of activity is still
defined as “unnatural” by the Raleigh legisla
tors. Think that Gay Marriage or a Hate Crimes
Bill is around the corner after this bill is passed?
You can bet your sweet bippy that the Nervous
Nellies in the Baptist Convention will bring up
the fact that CAN is still in place.
Further, the proposed Bill perpetuates in
equities in cases where the law is already used
— rape and public indecency. Imagine if a
straight couple is caught in a roll in the hay in
some wooded area of a rural county in the mis
sionary position, while two Gay men are eyed
by an overzealous policeman in a similar situa
tion. Both couples would be subject to arrest
for public indecency; the Gay couple would
have the added, double-jeopardy penalty of
CAN.
The bill doesn’t even begin to address the
many outdated, sexually-related laws on the
books here in North Carolina. Unmmarried
male and female couples that “lewdly and las
civiously associate, bed and cohabit together”
are still guilty of a misdemeanor. (Tell that to
the young, unmarried couple next door.) And,
did you know that it is illegal to “peep secretly
into any room occupied by a female person”
but not into a room occupied by a man? Per
haps Equality NC could examine the larger
picture here.
While Equality NC will trumpet this pro
posed bill as a “good compromise,” the only
answer is a final repeal of CAN. The current
General Statutes are filled with outdated laws
that have been similarly relegated to history. Do
yourself — and your straight friends — a fa
vor. Tell your state legislator that you want the
State of North Carolina out of the business of
passing moral judgements on its citizens. And,
while you’re at it, send a message to Equality
NC: do not be afraid to ask for what is right.
— Randy A. Riddle
Mebane, NC
[A member of Equality responds:]
Dear Editor,
Mr.Riddle has obviously given CAN much
thought. I wish to respond to his letter with
respect and clarify a couple of his definitions.
Crimes against Nature (commonly referred
to as CAN) is defined as “oral or anal sex with
another person, regardless of gender.”
NCGS§14-177 reads as follows: If any person
shall commit a crime against nature with man
kind or beast, he shall be punished as a Class I
felon. It is important to understand these defi
nitions when considering the effects this law
has on individuals.
This law has been used in North Carolina
in the following manner: It prevented a father
from receiving custody of two sons after the
NC Supreme Court held that “the regular com
mission of sexual acts in the home by unmar
ried people” justified the taking of the children
from him and awarding custody to the mother
in Kansas. It was also used to prevent someone
from getting a real estate broker’s license on lack
of requisite character because of a prior convic
tion for solicitation to commit a crime against
nature.
A full repeal of this law would be ideal, and
Equality will continue to fight for one. I would
like for NCS§14-177 to be removed from NC
law and will forge ahead with other constitu
ents to work within the constraints of the law
to repeal it entirely. Until others have the con
viction, as Mr. Riddle encourages, to tell their
state legislators that they want the State of NC
out of the business of passing moral judgements
on it’s citizens, we at Equality will continue to
lobby for such a repeal.
Q-Notes ▼ March 31, 2001 ▼ PAGE 31
Current national statistics do provide hope
of possible change in North Carolina. In the
last 10 years, most challenges to state sodomy
statutes have been successful. North Carolina
is one of only 8 states in which there has been
no recent constitutional challenge.
It is time for a challenge of NCGS§14-177.
It is time because this matters to the countless
number of individuals still being arrested for
this crime. It matters to all North Carolinians
who believe this statute sends a harmful mes
sage of intolerance and disdain.
— Bruce Moyer
Charlotte
[Sendyour comments on this issue, or others
affecting our community, to editor@q-notes.com.
Letters may be held or edited based on space and
content.]
Maryland takes giant step toward
passage of civil rights legislation
by David Elliot
Special to Q-Notes
BALTIMORE — Maryland appears on its
way to becoming the 12th state to ban discrimi
nation against gay and lesbian people after a con
servative Senate committee March 20 passed out
a bill that adds the words “sexual orientation” to
the state’s existing civil rights law.
The bill, SB 205, will now go before the full
Senate, which is expected to easily approve the
measure. The House of Delegates, which has
passed similar legislation in the past only to see
it die in Senate committee, also is expected to
approve it. Gov. Parris Glendening, who has
made passage of the bill a priority, has pledged
to sign it. The bill will ban sexual orientation
discrimination in the areas of employment,
public accommodations, housing, education
and health and welfare services. Maryland Free
State Justice, a statewide civil rights group which
worked to assure passage of the bill, sponsored
rallies and letter-writing campaigns. Despite
efforts to make the bill trans-inclusive, the bill
passed by the Senate committee does not in
clude transgender people.
Elizabeth Toledo, a Maryland resident and
executive director of the National Gay and Les
bian Task Force, called the committee’s action
“a tremendous achievement and a great start
ing point for ending discrimination against the
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender commu
nity in Maryland.”
Free State Justice plans to continue work
ing to ensure that any amendments offered to
the bill on the floor of the Senate or House do
not compromise the intent of prohibiting dis
crimination based on sexual orientation.
Eleven states plus the District of Columbia
currently ban sexual orientation discrimination
^— Minnesota, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Con
necticut, Hawaii, California, New Jersey, Ver
mont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and
Nevada. In addition, Minnesota and the Dis
trict of Columbia — ban discrimination based
on gender identity. Legislators in 21 states are
considering bills this year that would create ot
expand civil rights laws that include sexual ori
entation.
For more information about legislative ac
tivity affecting the GLBT community, please
see NGLTF’s Legislative Update at
www.ngltforg/statelocal/leg2001.htm. T
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