New Year, New Challenges

Family North Carolina Magazine—January/February 2009

By R. Matthew Lytle

With this issue of Family North Carolina, we welcome in the New Year. It is sure to be a momentous year as the nation inaugurates a new President and sees the beginning of his administration. There is similar change in the U.S. Congress, as Democrats are close to a filibuster-proof supermajority in the Senate. Indeed, as this magazine goes to press, there is still a Senate seat that is contested. North Carolina is also seeing its share of change with the beginning of a new gubernatorial administration. While there was a huge upset with one of North Carolina’s Senate races, the General Assembly remained largely unchanged in terms of political parties.

While change is in the air, some things never change. The values that affirm life and the traditional family remain constant. Despite how many times people try to redefine it, marriage is still the union between one man and one woman and is worth preserving. The lives of the unborn and the elderly are still worth defending. Parents still deserve the choice to raise and educate their children as they see fit. Christians still have the constitutionally-protected right to express their views in the public square.

There are still unchanging values—values that have helped to define our nation. Even so, there is also opposition. This opposition would seek to redefine these values to reflect a culture that has “outgrown” archaic ideals like the Bible or traditional family values. Because of this opposition, the North Carolina Family Policy Council will still be here defending and promoting those values that strengthen the traditional family.

One way we help strengthen the family is by working with the General Assembly. January not only sees the inauguration of North Carolina’s new Governor, it also sees the beginning of the new long session of the General Assembly. John Rustin, director of government relations, has been busy preparing for the new session and presents the feature article previewing the 2009 Session of the General Assembly. In this article, John alerts us to what issues to watch in the new session.
January marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and it is appropriate that we include an article that deals with abortion. Perhaps the biggest issue looming on the abortion front is the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). President-elect Obama has made it clear that he wants to sign this act into law as President. Denise Burke offers an explanation of what FOCA is and how it could affect the abortion scene nationwide and in North Carolina.

During the 2008 “Short” Session of the General Assembly, a bill was introduced that called for the study of the merits of legalizing marijuana for medical use. This bill was introduced with a press conference featuring former U.S. Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders, who called for legalization. Brittany Farrell investigates the potential benefits and dangers of legalizing medical marijuana by looking into the medical and legal issues involved with legalization.

Each year, fewer policies draw as many attacks as Abstinence until marriage education. While North Carolina statutes make it clear that abstinence education is the “expected standard,” what is taught in local schools often do not reflect this standard. As teenage pregnancy rates continue to increase, many advocates of so-called comprehensive sex education attribute this rise to perceived deficiencies in abstinence education. Amanda Abbott demonstrates in her article that many so-called abstinence curricula in use today actually emphasize promiscuous activity as long as it is done “safely.”

January not only marks the beginning of the New Year and new administrations, it also marks a new emphasis for the North Carolina Family Policy Council. Beginning this month, the Council is campaigning with other like-minded organizations and citizens around the state to amend the North Carolina Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. In the wake of five years of introducing marriage amendment bills that eventually die in the General Assembly, Tami Fitzgerald unveils the new marriage amendment campaign in her article. In light of the lack of traction in previous years, Tami underscores why North Carolina needs a marriage amendment campaign and what you can do to help.

R. Matthew Lytle is director of research for the North Carolina Family Policy Council.