The following survey questions were sent to candidates in Guilford, Alamance, Rockingham and Randolph Counties.
2009 REPLACEMENTS LTD PAC Survey Questions
MILITARY SERVICE
In 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was enacted. Since then, over 13,000 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-one 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. Do you support laws recognizing marriages or civil unions between same-sex couples, provided the requirements for obtaining a marriage license (or its equivalent) are the same as those required for opposite-sex couples?
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?
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