MAY 7 . 2005 • Q-NOTES
Regional
County considers domestic partner benefits
jrom page 1
action groups.
Not surprisingly, bringing up the issue
set off a war of words from Republican
County Commissioner Bill James over
morals and community values.
“If the Democrats want to swim in the
moral sewer, they’re entitled to do that and
pay the consequences next year at the polls,”
James said in an email to Q.-Nofes.
Helms said James’ comments
don’t “deserve my response, i have ■
said what I believe, and i have said
what I believe is right and it will be up to
this board and this community to ulti
mately determine who we are.”
Helms went further to clarify his
belief that treating all employees equally
and preventing discrimination is a
human rights issue.
“The more we try to make it a par
tisan issue, the more irresponsible we
become.”
Domestic partnership benefits isn’t a
new issue for Charlotte.
In the summer of 2003, MeckPAC,
Charlotte’s LGBT political action group,
.submitted a proposal to Charlotte Mayor
Pat McCrory and the city council, asking
them to provide domestic partnership
benefits for the city’s gay and lesbian
employees. Although members of
MeckPAC provided several examples of
other Carolina cities that had successfully
inacted just such a program, McCrory
opposed the idea, siding with city manag
er Pam Syfert and offering the excuse that
such an undertaking would be too expen
sive for the city.
While offering benefits to Mecklenburg
County employees would have no impact
on City of Charlotte employees, it’s still a
step in the right direction — though many
in the local LGBT community here doubt
“H.
historically a conservative;,
predominately Republican town,
recent events have shown a rising
tide df change... ”
the effort will come to pass.
Historically a conservative, predomi
nantly Republican town, recent events
have shown a rising tide of change in
Charlotte. Large numbers relocating to
Charlotte from Northern cities for work in
Charlotte’s bustling banking industry and
a booming Latin community have tipped
the scales to a decided left slant in the past
two years.
During the 2004 presidential election
John Kerry took Mecklenburg County in a
landslide victory. Both the county commis
sion and the city council are now predom
inantly Democratic. A reported landmark
effort by Democrats to oust Republican
McCrory from his mayoral position in
2006 is already underway.
Still, opposition to any pro-gay legisla
tion runs high, churned out by ultra-right-
wing fundamentalist religious groups.
According to County
■ Commissioner Jennifer Roberts,
she’s been swamped by protest
messages to both her personal and
government email addresses.
While most of Mecklenburg
County is covered by Charlotte — a
city with a population around
500,000 — several other smaller,
more rural communities like
Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville,
H Matthews, Mint Hill and Pineville
exist within Mecklenburg’s borders.
James is banking on support from
those areas to prevent passing any pro
gay legislation. He reportedly rallied
support for his anti-gay email campaign
that bombarded commissioners from
individuals in the district he represents
and other area right-wing action
groups.
In another email sent to CtNotes, James
said that the benefits program “didn’t
stand a chance in hades of passing
because Democrats in rural areas won’t
■ x-ir*
support it, along with the GOP.”
Although Helms said he would prob
ably wait until the county budget
process is completed in June before tak
ing the issue to the board, it is unlikely
he’ll back down on the issue. He’s
shown consistent support for the LGBT
community, which includes his opposi
tion to a resolution introduced last year
in support of a statewide constitutional
ban on sarrie-sex
marriage.
“The sanctity
of marriage is cre
ated by the hus
band and the wife
or by the partners
who choose it.
You do not legis
late it,” Helms
said when the
resolution came
before council. County Commissioner
“Some then Jennifer Roberts soys
love men, some she's been inundot^
women love wo- protest emails,
men. What’s wrong with that? We were
taught to love one another.”
At press time, the Charlotte Observer
story and an accompanying poll had
sparked a furious debate over domestic
partnership benefits, with votes running 61
percent in favor of benefits and 39 percent
opposing. •
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