NC Legislators Need Help. Call Them Up. Give Them Guidance.

North Carolina legislators submitted a house bill 494 which would allow the state to establish its own state religion, and to and refuse to acknowledge the force of any judicial ruling on prayer, or indeed on any constitutional issue.  The bill reads in part:  "Each state in the union is sovereign and may independently determine how that state may make laws respecting an establishment of religion."  Well, HB 494  is "Dead on Arrival" according to Phil Berger, President Pro Temp of the NC Senate, although it did pick up 12 House sponsors.   But wait – it gets worse.

Here are the latest bill proposals to begin their road toward becoming law:

HB 518, if guns & ammo bear the inscription  “Made in NC” then they are exempt from all federal law.

SB 667 “Equalize Voter Rights”  Intended to restrtict college student voting.  And if those students are NC residents and are attending a college away from their parent's home, then their parents lose their state income tax exemption if their college children want to vote.

SB 337 Charter Schools - Will take the charter schools from the state jurisdiction and leave it up to their parent corporation to determine if the teachers need to be licensed and if so, how many need to be licensed, and also eliminate criminal background checks for teachers or workers at schools.

SB 518  “Healthy Marriage Act”  proposed by Senator Allran OF CATAWBA COUNTY.  If you and your spouse decide to get a divorce, you will have to remain married for 2 more years.  

Wow.  Talk about BIG GOVERNMENT. So what to do?  My take is that I have started calling them on the telephone and telling the clerk who answers their phone what I think about these proposals.  I get the number of the bill (HB xxx or SB xxx) and maybe the name of the sponsor, plus a "name" of the bill (Healthy Marriage Act), and tell the clerk what I think and what my recommendations are.  Mostly it comes down to 1) the imposition of big Government, 2) discrimination against a group of voters, 3) being unable to enforce (such as a state religion, or local guns being OK to carry anywhere) 4) appealing to ignorant emotions, and 5) trying to divide the people of the state against each other 5) just being "dumb and stupid" and making NC look like a bunch of stupid, backward hicks who revel in the fact that the rest of the world is laughing at them. 

BUT – I think it is important to let them know.  They can only try such tactics if they think we really don't care.   Call them up, talk to them, let them know you DO care, and give them guidance.  

Here are some numbers to begin:  They all begin with 919-733-  , then choose:   Allran Sen 5876, Wells Rep 5988, McCrory (Governor) 5811, Tillis (Speaker of House)  3451, Berger (President Pro Tempore of Senate) 5708