RALEIGH, N.C. — In the aftermath of Roe v. Wade being overturned, lawmakers are looking at other aspects of life related to Roe, like same-sex marriage.
Sen. Thom Tillis is joining Senate Democrats to advance gay rights. The North Carolina Republican has indicated he wants to vote yes on the Respect for Marriage Act.
What You Need To Know
Sen. Thom Tillis voices support for same-sex marriage bill while Sen. Richard Burr has not yet indicated how he will vote
Community organizer Hwa Huang worries about the rights of LGBTQ people overall, including when it comes to marriage and workplace protections
Huang wants elected officials in North Carolina to be more vocal about their support for the rights of the LGBTQ population
Hwa Huang is studying marine microbiology at N.C. State. He stays busy between his graduate studies and activism. Huang deeply cares about social issues.
“I do want to effect change as a scientist when I come out there,” Huang said. “But at the same time, the reason why I’m doing things like activism and civic engagement is because it is something I’m passionate about. I want to be able to use science to bring positive change to the communities.”
Huang, who identifies as a queer man, is worried about the rights of people in the LGBTQ community.
“I would say just our right to live, or exist, as we are,” Huang said. “It’s amazing that we are living in 2022, and we are still debating about whether or not we have, we should have workplace protections and marriage rights. And like those things should have been resolved decades ago. But here we are, we are still talking about it. We’re still seeing it as something we are put to risk at all the time.”
Steps to codify gay marriage are part of supporting the community. Huang is skeptical given Tillis’ track record on issues that impact the LGBTQ community such as trans rights back in 2016.
“He was silent about his stance on HB2,” Huang said. “He was not really vocal about whether or not he’s against it or he’s for it. At times like this when our rights are at risk, we kind of need elected officials to be more forthcoming, if you will, about what they really believe in as far as basic human rights.”
His advice for those on the right who want to advocate for LGBTQ freedoms:
“If they really want to be allies, start by acknowledging and understanding and accepting the fact that we have the right to exist as anyone else does,” Huang said. “And also we have the inclusion on having the right to live, the way anyone else would like to, that inclusion of enjoying protection of work places, on school grounds, and also the right to marry who you like.”
Spectrum News 1 reached out to Tillis but has not received a response.
The House of Representatives passed the Respect for Marriage Act with a vote of 267-157. Forty-seven Republicans voted in favor. The Senate has not yet scheduled a vote. North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr has not publicly stated how he will vote on the marriage rights bill.