The Inside Scoop

Family North Carolina Magazine—Mar/Apr 2008

By John L Rustin

Although it is only late February as we go to press with this issue of Family North Carolina, we here at the North Carolina Family Policy Council have already turned our sights on the upcoming session of the North Carolina General Assembly, which begins in mid-May. As you will see in these pages, a number of very important family-related issues are currently facing our state.

Before we get started however, I’d like to make you aware of an addition to our staff—Matt Lytle, our new Director of Research. Matt comes to us from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is completing a Doctorate in Philosophy with a concentration in Christian Ethics. Besides being an all-around great guy and family man, Matt is an accomplished researcher, writer and instructor in a wide variety of topics related to his field of study. This makes him particularly well equipped to take over as Editor of Family North Carolina among other duties, and Matt is excited about his new role with the Council.

As you will see, Matt has already jumped in with both feet by authoring the first of our Spotlight articles. The recent death of pregnant Marine Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach in Onslow County once again has brought attention to the fact that North Carolina law fails to recognize two victims when a pregnant woman and her unborn child are killed. In this article, Matt explores state and federal Unborn Victims of Violence Acts, the status of such a statute in North Carolina, and how the foundation of these policies is established in early law.

In our feature, Alysse ElHage examines how anti-bullying and harassment policies have become the latest tool of homosexual activists, as we are experiencing firsthand in North Carolina. Although policies to prohibit bullying and harassment in public schools sound like common sense measures on the surface, they are being highjacked by those who want to push a pro-homosexual agenda in the classroom. Including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” in anti-bullying policies would create “victim” status for certain individuals, and if successful, these efforts would result in a monumental shift in public education, from changing what our children are taught about human sexuality to chilling the free speech rights of those who believe homosexuality and other “alternative” sexual behaviors are unhealthy, immoral and wrong.

In the “Radio Talk” section, we feature an interview with Brenda High, whose son, Jared, committed suicide at the age of 13 after being bullied at school. Brenda talks about her crusade to promote the adoption of anti-bullying policies across the country, and why she opposes the inclusion of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression,” because they wrongly shift the focus off of

the bully and onto the victim.
In our second Spotlight, Tim Wilkins, founder/director of Cross Ministry, Inc., looks into the origin and history of the term “sexual orientation.” He demonstrates how manipulating language can have a powerful influence over the culture.

In the “Courts” section, attorney Tami Fitzgerald highlights a new question added to this year’s law school application for the University of North Carolina School of Law: “Do you self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer?” No state or federal law exists to require or authorize such a question to be asked on an application to a publicly funded educational institution. Tami explores the reasons given by law school officials for this new question and some of the possible ramifications on law school admissions.

In addition, as we turn our attention to the upcoming legislative session, we have provided a preview of several of the issues that will be on the table when the General Assembly reconvenes on May 13. State lawmakers will face the adoption or rejection of a statewide “bullying bill.” The State House also passed a bill last year to allow state tax dollars to be used to fund destructive embryonic stem cell research, and this bill is pending in the Senate. North Carolina also remains the only state in the Southeast that has taken no substantive action to amend its constitution to define marriage as the “union of one man and one woman at one time.”

We will be fully engaged in these issues and many more come mid-May, and we encourage you to stay tuned. As always, thanks for reading!

John L. Rustin is Vice President and Director of Government Relations for the North Carolina Family Policy Council.

John L. Rustin is vice president and director of government relations for the North Carolina Family Policy Council.