North Carolina has been my home since 1998. I have spent much of these last 13 years defending this state to those I left behind. Family and friends frequently ridicule the stereotypical characteristics of the South - that it is a socially backward, intellectually impoverished culture of ethnocentric, racist religious zealots. In turn, I proudly extol the many positive attributes of North Carolina - the low cost of living and the economic stability (relative to my home state), the natural beauty that I can enjoy all year, the diversity of the people - so many things that make this a great place to call home. But I have never felt so deeply and utterly ashamed to live here.
By bringing about a pending constitutional amendment to prevent gay marriage, and by demonizing gay marriage and gay rights with their ignorant and baseless claims of potential harm to our society, the leaders of this state are simply reinforcing every negative stereotype that the rest of the world believes about Southerners. These leaders have humiliated North Carolina in the eyes of intelligent society.
I can only hope that the voting public will exhibit more tolerance and intelligence than those who call themselves leaders. It is those "leaders" who should be ashamed.
