Rowan County Seized by Queer Fear

Last night the Rowan County Commission, evidently bored with county budgets and the managing of county departments, staged a circus for the benefit of bigots and voted unanimously (including the votes of two Democratic commissioners) to ask the state legislature to pursue "a constitutional amendment declaring marriage between a man and woman the only legally recognized union."

And a good ole gay-bashin' time was had by all!

Amazingly, given the atmosphere of hellfire and brimstone, an equal number of people spoke against the resolution, some quite eloquently (and futilely). One man said the civil rights of a minority should never be decided by a majority vote. (Apparently, the commissioners had never heard that novel tenet of democracy.) A retired minister called the resolution unnecessary because the state already defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. He added that homosexuals are being vilified and discriminated against. Lina Drinkard of Salisbury said, "This is an inappropriate topic for county commissioners." She added that the board is "dividing the citizens of Rowan County. This is not good leadership." William "Bill" Stanback talked about his daughter, a lesbian who has a divinity degree and married her companion of 25 years on Valentine's Day. Stanback said he was proud of his daughter, but he was not proud of the commissioners. "This is not the thing to do," Stanback said. "We elected you to run Rowan County. This is not within your appointed duties."

Not within their appointed duties, but the Rowan Commissioners were bent on satisfying the prejudices of the loving Christians who carried signs outside the County Administrative Bldg. condemning homosexuals to everlasting damnation.

According to Matt Comer, during the public comment Garland Faw of Truth Temple Baptist Church quoted Leviticus 20:13, about the "abomination" of homosexual love, but Pastor Faw omitted the rest of the verse which called for homosexuals to be put to death. Because -- hey! -- we don't want to get caught reading all of Leviticus too literally, right, Pastor?

County government in Rowan has gone completely loony-tunes.