South Carolina voters to decide on marriage amendment one year from today

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From Q-Notes (www.q-notes.com) One year and counting: Will S.C. turn its back on gay and lesbian citizens over marriage amendment Vote set for Nov. 7, 2006, will decide whether or not the state becomes one of the next to ban gay marriages by Donald Miller COLUMBIA, S.C. — On Nov. 7, 2006, South Carolina voters will go to the polls to decide the future of gay and lesbian equality when they give an up or down vote to HB3133. The amendment to the state constitution will not only ban same-sex marriage, it will refuse recognition of civil unions and domestic partnerships, whether entered into in this or any other state or country. Organizers in the effort to squash equality for LGBT families declared victory this past March when members of the S.C. Senate, led by Sen. John D. Hawkins (R–Spartanburg), pushed HB3133 through a subcommittee chaired by Sen. Robert Ford (D–Charleston). Hawkins and his colleagues called for a vote to take HB3133 out of Ford’s subcommittee, and it passed. The Senate was prepared to vote on HB3133 — a bill that would change the state constitution and enshrine LGBT people as second-class citizens — with no public hearings at all. Through the efforts of Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell (R–Charleston), the LGBT community was granted two hours of public testimony. Despite their best efforts, 37 senators voted in favor of a bill described by McConnell as “unconstitutional.” Sen. Ford cast the only dissenting vote. However, nine senators abstained. To read the full article click here