The following survey questions were sent to candidates in Guilford, Alamance, Rockingham and Randolph Counties.
2008 REPLACEMENTS LTD PAC Survey Questions
MILITARY SERVICE
In 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was enacted. Since then, over 11,000 gay service men and women have been discharged. Do you believe gays should be able to serve openly and honorably in the military?
EMPLOYMENT
Federal laws do not provide protection against anti-gay discrimination in the workplace. Twenty states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that protect individuals against employment discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. North Carolina is not one of them. Do you believe that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity should be prohibited by law in the workplace?
DOMESTIC PARTNER BENEFITS
Many gay persons are involved in long-term, monogamous, committed relationships. Many own property together, and their finances are intertwined. Their relationships are not recognized by law in North Carolina or federally. Consequently, they do not have 1,049 benefits that married spouses have. One of the most visible of these benefits is access to a spouse’s health insurance. A number of cities and counties in North Carolina offer domestic partner benefits to their own employees, as Replacements, Ltd. and the vast majority of Fortune 500 companies do. Do you support providing domestic partner benefits to gay city, county, or state employees equal to the benefits received by married employees?
MARRIAGE/CIVIL UNIONS
North Carolina laws and federal laws do not allow marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples, and both North Carolina and federal law prohibit the recognition of marriages or civil unions entered into in another state. There have been unsuccessful attempts to amend the Constitutions of the United States and North Carolina to prevent same-sex marriage, civil unions, and, in some cases, domestic partner rights. Do you oppose efforts to amend the United States or North Carolina constitutions which would deny gays and lesbians marriage rights, recognition of a same-sex couple’s union, or domestic partnerships?
ADOPTION
North Carolina law allows a gay or lesbian individual to adopt children. However, North Carolina does not allow both individuals in a same-sex relationship to adopt children. This is referred to as Second-Parent Adoption. Do you support the idea that committed partners in a same-sex relationship should be able to jointly adopt children, provided that the adoption is found to be in the best interests of the child?
SAFE SCHOOLS
According to the Southeastern Network of Youth and Family Services, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students are confronted by violence, harassment and discrimination in public schools which goes unaddressed 73% of the time. Guilford County Schools has adopted policies providing for non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression and preventing bullying of students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Do you support statewide efforts seeking to ensure that all school systems adopt non-harassment and non-discrimination policies including protection on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression?
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