2007 Annual Report
November 4, 2007
Christian Action League of North Carolina, Inc.
809 Spring Forest Road, Ste 1000
Raleigh, N.C. 27609
Phone: 919.787.0606
Email: calact@aol.com
The Christian Action League of North Carolina is a Christian public policy organization that addresses public policy and legislative issues from a Christian worldview. The Christian Action League has a full-time presence in the General Assembly of North Carolina and has garnered considerable respect from both the Republican and Democratic parties. The League's purpose is to assist the church in fulfilling Christ's command to be the "salt" and the "light" of the earth. The following report contains ministry highlights for 2007:
Advancing Kingdom Principles
Lobbying Activity in the North Carolina General Assembly Alcohol
This year, the Christian Action League initiated, as well as lobbied for the passage of Senate Bill 125 Alcohol Inhalers Illegal, which was sponsored by Sen. Steve Goss (D-Watauga). The legislation, which passed both the House and Senate by a unanimous margin, bans the manufacture, sale, gift, delivery, possession or use of an AWOL machine. AWOL stands for Alcohol Without Liquid and refers to a device that one may pour his/her favorite spirit (an 80-proof liquor is what the AWOL Marketers recommend) into that mixes the alcoholic beverage with oxygen to produce a mist that is inhaled through the mouth, allowing alcohol to enter the bloodstream through the lungs and going straight to the brain for a rapid and intense high. The device has been marketed as "the ultimate party toy" and its sole purpose is to get people inebriated.
Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League first learned about the dangers of these (alcohol without liquid) machines last year at the American Council on Alcohol Problems Annual Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. "My concern grew when I learned these machines were being sold throughout the United States and were coming out of North Carolina from Greensboro-based Spirit Partners Inc." said Creech
"Today more than a third of young people begin drinking by eighth grade and 5 million U.S. high school students binge drink at least once a month. With those kinds of alcohol abuse statistics staring us in the face, imagine what would happen if users could fast track the mind-altering effects of alcohol and, at the same time, sidestep the hangover.... That's exactly the appeal of AWOL," he added.
Fortunately, lawmakers agreed with CAL that such devices should be banned to protect the public health. Twenty-two other states had already banned the devices, but CAL's legislation had a national impact because it has at least temporarily shut down the business distributing the devices based in North Carolina.
HB 1277 Drivers License Revocation for ABC Violation, sponsored by Rep. Ty Harrell (D-Wake) was a great victory for the Christian Action League. Last year a tragic automobile accident took the lives of four Wakefield High School students in Raleigh: Baker Wood, Steven George, Anthony Bostic, and Timothy Steinberg. According to authorities, Wood was driving 100 miles per hour when the car the teens were riding in slammed into a concrete barrier on the US 64/264 ramp of the Raleigh beltline, then jumped the barrier and fell to a fiery crash 60 feet below. Alcohol was a factor in the accident. Wood's blood alcohol level was 0.21; George's was 0.14. far above the 0.8 legal limit.
Since that time, Steve and Kathleen George, parents of the deceased Steven George, tirelessly worked to create some meaning to their son's death. They say they were unaware of how their son got the alcohol that fateful night, but they were deeply concerned adults are a large part of the underage drinking problem and its sometimes fatal consequences.
Unfortunately, the Georges were right in their assessment. This is why the Christian Action League worked closely with Rep. Ty Harrell (D-Wake) to help secure the passage of HB 1277, which would suspend the driver's license for up to one year of anyone convicted of providing booze for underage drinkers.
Many people don't understand the most common source of alcohol for minors is the home. Parents are under the assumption that if they allow parties where alcohol is served either in their house or backyard, youngsters will be safe. But the fact is when adults serve alcohol to someone under 21 they are breaking the law and putting teens at risk. Laws that make these adults accountable are essential.
Asheboro, North Carolina is an example of a city that is totally "alcohol dry" that has received numerous awards for bringing industry and business with many fine restaurants and new hotels into the community, thus providing clear and convincing evidence that alcohol sales are not necessary for economic growth.
HB 1139 ABC Law Changes, sponsored by Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Union) would have made this "shining city on a hill" a "Tourism ABC Establishment," which would have given the Asheboro City Council the sole authority for voting in alcohol sales and not a city-wide referendum.
The legislation received its first hearing from the House ABC Committee, where Rev. Mark Creech spoke against the measure.
Creech told the Committee the legislation was unfair to Asheboro, which had made it clear in previous referendums and the failure of a recent petition drive that they wanted to remain "dry." Appealing to the Golden Rule, Creech told lawmakers that circumventing local option alcohol referenda was like enacting legislation that would throw the results of the last election in favor of their opponent. He said, "How would you feel? Outraged? Angry? Disappointed? Helpless? Would it cause you to lose faith in your government? This is exactly how communities feel that vote against alcohol sales in
one form or another, when suddenly they learn the legislature, for whatever perceived legitimate reason, has given an establishment in their community an alcohol permit they clearly voted against. It undermines their faith in this process."
The House ABC Committee then proceeded to remove the language affecting Asheboro, which only left the bill with minor provisions that addressed innocuous technical changes in North Carolina's alcohol policy.
A Proposed Committee Substitute (PCS) for SB 838 ABC Law Changes. AB, sponsored by Sen. Stan Bingham (R-Davidson) was considered before the Senate Commerce Committee, Tuesday, July 10. The PCS removed the good provisions from the original draft of SB 838 that would have increased penalties and fines for alcoholic beverage control violations. Sen. Stan Bingham, the bill's sponsor testified he removed the provisions at the request of the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association, who expressed the fines could cause a serious hardship for some retailers.
Most of the meeting, however, was about addressing the proposal in Section 6 of the measure that would have allowed local governments and non-profits to "sell" alcoholic beverages at fundraising events.
Current statutes already allow these groups to serve (give away) alcoholic beverages as an act of hospitality at a fundraising effort. Section 6. G.S. 18B-1002(5) presently reads: "A permit may be issued to a unit of local government, or to a non-profit organization or a political organization to serve wine, malt beverages, and spirituous liquor at a ticketed event held to allow the unit of local government or organization to raise funds."
Officials from the North Carolina ABC Commission argued in favor of the measure saying the current statute needed clarification. The words "serve" and "spirituous liquors," they contended, were not clear and might be up for interpretation. Therefore, they believed it was necessary to change the language to add the words "sell" and "mixed beverages" to the statute.
Two amendments were offered to the measure during debate. The first proposed amendment failed and the second succeeded.
The first amendment would have allowed local governments and non-profits to "sell" or "serve" alcoholic beverages, but only in compliance with alcohol policy in the locale of the fundraiser. For example: If a non-profit wished to "sell" or "serve" alcoholic beverages as a part of their fundraiser in a dry city, it would not be allowed. If the same was attempted in a city that allowed only beer and wine sales, only beer and wine could be served or sold, etc. This amendment, though a close vote, failed because it would in certain situations have removed the current privilege of serving or giving away alcoholic beverages at some fundraisers.
The second amendment offered to strip the proposed amendments to change the language of Section 6 and simply keep the status quo. This amendment passed almost unanimously rejecting the concept of allowing local governments and non-profits to "sell" alcoholic beverages for fundraisers.
SB 1478 Manufacturer Coupons/Purchasing ABC Products, sponsored by Sen. Ed Jones (D-Bertie) and HB 1534 Manufacturer Coupons/Purchasing ABC Products, sponsored by Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Union), would have allowed retail merchants in North Carolina to issue coupons or utilize membership, discount or loyalty cards to provide a discount off the price of beer and wine sold by retailers for off premises consumption.
This measure was essentially a remake of a provision tucked inside a bill from last year (HB 1025 Winemaking on Premises Permit) that was removed by a Senate Committee which was being pushed by the most powerful lobby in the State the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association. The provision was later resurrected on the House side and placed inside another bill (SB 8282006 Viticulture/Enology Act), which passed the House ABC Committee, but was ultimately removed from the House Calendar and sent back to the House ABC Committee to die. A prevailing concern against the coupons provision was the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission already had the authority to effect the proposal by a simple rules change; therefore, the General Assembly ought to allow them to do their job. The NCRMA then petitioned the ABC Commission for the rules change, which held a hearing, where the Christian Action League argued against the measure and the ABC Commission ruled against it.
CAL's argument this year against the return of this legislation was the same as when it strongly opposed it before the ABC Commission. CAL said that it presented a public heath risk on a number of levels. Numerous are the studies revealing that any time appealing advertising is teamed with offering a discount on alcohol sales, consumption levels dangerously rise. Not only should there be concern about the way this legislation would put people with addiction problems at risk, but there should also be concern about its potential for exacerbating the problems of underage drinking and college binge drinking rates.
One of the key selling points of the North Carolina Retail Merchant's Association was that the legislation would equalize what retailers could do with what the spirituous liquor stores were already doing. But it would not have equalized anything, but instead have given retailers an advantage that the state liquor stores did not have.
ABC stores in North Carolina offer coupons on less than one half of one percent of the items listed for sale and are generally for the larger and more expensive brands. The coupons they offer are manufacturer's mail-in coupons. But the Christian Action League rightly argued that a retailer would not be so limited, but could offer discounts via coupons on all its beer and wine products for as much as 50% off and the benefit would have been immediate. Moreover, the hours of liquor stores are limited and the hours of retailers are not, allowing for greater sales by retailers. People under 21 are prohibited from entering most ABC stores. But no such limitation is placed on the thousands of grocery and convenience stores that sell beer and wine products that are relatively cheap in price and easily accessible to youth.
When CAL opposed the North Carolina Retail Merchant's Association's arguments on this measure before the North Carolina ABC Commission, it was able to put together a coalition of foes that included the Christian Action League, Octavia Rainey, a well-known black Raleigh inner city activists, the North Carolina Association of Convenience Stores and the Coalition for Alcohol and Drug Free Teenagers of Chapel
Hill and Carboro.
CAL was also able to secure some of the most respected names in public health and alcohol policy to write letters to the Chairman of the North Carolina ABC Commission expressing their opposition to the measure. Those names included: Kim Miller, Manager of Federal Relations and head of the alcohol policies project of the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington D.C., Dan Ireland, Executive Director of the American Council on Alcohol Problems in Birmingham, Alabama, Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, Executive Director of the National Association of Alcohol Drug Addiction Counselors in Alexandria. Virginia, Dr. John C. Nelson, who up until 2006 was the President of the American Medical Association, Henry Wechsler, Director of the College Alcohol Study of the Harvard School of Public Health, Barbara Alvarez Martin, a former member of the 2005 North Carolina Governor's Task Force on Driving While Impaired, and also formerly director of the NC Initiative to Reduce Underage Drinking, Dr. Philip Cook, a renowned economist and a Terry Sanford Professor of Public Policy at Duke University, and Darrell Jernigan, Director of the Governor's Highway Safety Program all wrote letters vigorously opposing the proposal of alcohol coupons for retail stores.
CAL was even able to garner the support of First Lady, Mary Easley, who is the national co-chair for the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free to write the Chairman. In her letter the First Lady said: "Many retailers argue that, if clerks are following the law consumers who are under the legal drinking age will not benefit from these discounts. This is not true. Seventy percent of youth report obtaining alcohol from a person they know who is over 21 and who would use these discounts. Public health advocates agree that a decrease in alcohol price will affect alcohol availability to minors and compound the many challenges facing law enforcement, educators, counselors and state and local leaders who are working tirelessly to reduce and prevent underage drinking in our communities...Alcohol is already currently available at almost every turn at the grocery, convenience, or drug store aisle and consumers can easily find a six-pack of beer or bottle of wine priced lower than some brands of sodas or bottled water. In addition, alcohol advertising has saturated our society to the point where our children can name more brands of beer than they can American presidents. Why do we need to give consumers one more incentive to purchase a product associated with so many risk and harmful consequences?"
As one can imagine, this year when the legislation was resurrected and lawmakers read CAL's research on the matter and could see the strength of the experts aligned against it and more importantly, when they perceived the Governor would likely veto the bill if it arrived on his desk, neither the House or Senate versions of the bill were heard before their respective committees.
This was the third time this critical legislation backed by the most powerful lobby in North Carolina was turned back.
1230 Scenic Byways Bed and Breakfasts Inns, sponsored by Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Union), had it passed, would have allowed a qualifying Bed and Breakfast Inn in Watauga County to offer liquor by the drink despite the fact voters in the mountain
county had made it clear their intent to allow only beer and wine sales and only in incorporated areas.
The Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director of the Christian Action League, argued before the House ABC Committee against the legislation saying it was an end-run around local option alcohol referenda. 'It is a circumvention of the vote of the people," he said.
To help prevent the backdoor move, Creech called the Rev. Allan Blume, pastor of Mount Vernon Baptist Church and asked him to warn the county's residents. Blume contacted the Chamber of Commerce director who contacted Rep. Cullie Tarleton (D-Watauga), to hear his take on the matter. Blume also called leaders in the Republican Party to ask for help in informing the populace.
Within a very short time, 500 people in the county got e-mails asking them to contact their legislators and tell them how they felt about the bills, Blume said, adding that Rep. Tarleton had promised to carry out his constituents' wishes if the bills came to a vote.
Former Watauga County commissioner Keith Honeycutt learned about the bills from CAL and immediately contacted the present Commission Chairman, who had no idea there was a move afoot to subvert local alcohol laws. The word spread among commissioners and when they met Tuesday night, they amended their agenda to discuss the matter and voted unanimously to take a stand against the bills and ask their state representatives to do the same.
"Tarleton said he got hundreds of e-mails and several phone calls from concerned citizens," Honeycutt said. The freshman legislator apparently contacted Rep. Gibson (D-Union), the bill's primary sponsor and asked him to pull the bill.
"Gibson withdrew the bill and sent it back to the ABC Committee apparently for it to die there," said Creech, who was pleased to see the people of Watauga take a quick and decisive stand on the matter.
Both Blume and Honeycutt credited CAL for fast action and accurate information. "This is the second time the Christian Action League has brought this kind of legislation to our attention and both times we were able to act on it," Honeycutt said. "Mark (Creech) was in the forefront, getting the information to us so that we that we knew exactly what we were talking about when we went to the County Commission."
"We certainly would not have known about it, and there is a good chance it would have slipped on by. We're thankful to Rev. Creech for contacting us," Blume said. "Our church has the Christian Action League in our monthly budget. And an incident like this underscores for us that our support for this organization certainly pays off. Otherwise, we could have been blindsided and had this alcohol legislation jammed down our throats."
HB 1630 Increase Small Brewery Limits, sponsored by Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford), would have increased the limit of barrels of production (from 25,000 to 60,000) by small breweries in North Carolina before the brewery would be required to use a wholesale distributor to distribute its products. What made the legislation bad was that it bypassed the three-tier system of alcohol control in North Carolina. Before prohibition there were only two-tiers the producers and the retailers. After prohibition to prevent
marketing abuses that had characterized producer-retailer relationships, the three-tier system, which included wholesalers as the middleman, was established as a means of better control over the distribution and availability of alcoholic beverages. Today sixty-nine percent of Americans are opposed to the direct shipment of alcoholic beverages. HB 1630 would have undermined this system of control in North Carolina. Fortunately, the measure was sent to the House Committee on Commerce, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, where it was never taken up for consideration.
HB 1706 ABC Laws Study Commission, sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Love (D-Harnett), called for an Alcoholic Beverage Control Laws Study Commission that "would review the current Alcoholic Beverage Control Laws in Chapter 18B of the General Statutes and the Rules of the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission to identify those statutes and rules that may be obsolete or unconstitutional and to recommend proposed legislation and rules to streamline the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission."
This legislation, unfortunately, largely grew out of lawmakers amending local option alcohol referenda so often to allow special provisions for alcohol permits now the state's current system of alcohol control has been seriously convoluted and needs simplification.
Local option alcohol referenda has been taken apart piece by piece and General Statutes 18B of North Carolina's alcohol control policy contains numerous unconstitutional statutes.
The threat is that a Commission made up of lawmakers would likely recommend legislation that would wet the entire State as the solution. Also possible is the threat that such a Commission might recommend privatization of alcohol sales.
HB 1706 ABC Laws Study Commission was ultimately rolled into the 2007 Studies Bill, which passed the House, but was never taken up by the Senate. Because the measure was a study bill, the Christian Action League took no position on it.
Another bill that the Christian Action League took no position on was SB 661 ABC Election-Cities in Two Counties. The legislation, which passed the General Assembly amends the current ABC statutes to provide cities straddling more than one county to hold a liquor-by-the-drink election without having an ABC store election if at least one municipality in any of the counties in which the city is located operates an ABC store.
Before, to have a liquor-by-the-drink election in a city located in more than one county (1) there had to be at least 500 registered voters in the city, (2) the city had to operate an ABC store (3) if the city did not operate an ABC store then one of the counties where the city was located must operate ABC stores county-wide, (4) the city ABC store election had to be held at the same time as the liquor-by-the-drink election.
The purpose of this legislation (SB 1661) was to provide certain cities located in more than one county with a means to have a liquor-by-the-drink election when the counties wherein the cities were located did not operate ABC stores county-wide. Such cites were in a unique circumstance and unable to have a liquor-by-the-drink election on a basis equal with that of other cities in North Carolina.
The negative to this legislation was that the measure created an inconsistency in North Carolina's current alcohol election statutes in that it allows cities in more than one
county to have a liquor-by-the-drink election without requiring them to place the ABC store question on the ballot at the same time.
The legislation affects 11 cities, including: Beech Mountain, Blowing Rock, Broadway, Harrels, Highlands, Kings Mountain, Locust, Rhodiss, Saluda, Seven Devils, and Stanfield.
The primary sponsor of the legislation, Sen. William Purcell (D-Scotland) argued that he introduced the measure at the request of the city council of Locust, North Carolina.
Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League said:
Education
HB 879 Modify School Health Education Program, sponsored by Rep. Susan Fisher (D-Buncombe) would have struck down the requirement that only "abstinence until marriage" sex education curriculums be taught in North Carolina public schools. The proposed legislation would instead have taught comprehensive sex education (CSE) and provided information on alternate lifestyles and gender identity, without bias. Students would have also been educated about emergency contraception.
Under a comprehensive sex education program the primary emphasis is upon the "safe-sex" message.
Studies clearly show that when "abstinence until marriage" curriculums are correctly implemented, they are highly effective in delaying teenage sexual activity, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.
Proponents of comprehensive sex education claim, in effect, that the vast majority of young people are unable to abstain from sex. So, because they cannot avoid the risk by abstaining, adults need to help them by providing the best risk-reduction measures. These measures are primarily based on providing access to condoms and instructions on how to use them.
This risk-reduction approach, however, is inconsistent with the message that the medical community and the public in general present to youth regarding other high-risk behaviors.
From tobacco, alcohol and drug use to fighting, gun use and drunken driving, the prevailing message is "don't do it" avoid or eliminate the risk. But when it comes to sex and all the potential dangers that accompany it, sadly, the message is, "Use condoms to reduce your risk of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases."
A risk-reduction strategy is totally inconsistent with the longstanding primary-prevention medical model. And it proves that the promotion of comprehensive sex education in schools is really driven by radical dogma, not by medical or scientific reasons.
The approach also has an unintended consequence. By recommending condom usage to teenagers, four dangerous ideas are conveyed: (1) that "safe-sex" is achievable; (2) that everybody is doing it; (3) that responsible adults expect them to do it; and (4) it's a good thing. These are destructive messages to send to kids, messages that breed promiscuity.
But there is another reason why abstinence-based education is superior to comprehensive sex education. It has to do with the Creator's design for sex, God's expressed will for human sexuality. "Protected promiscuity" has no part in that plan. Sex within the context for which it was intended lifelong, monogamous marriage is always safe. This is the message kids need to hear from the earliest days of childhood. Anything less is worse than third-rate and cannot guarantee protection from the harmful physical and emotional effects of sex outside of marriage.
The Christian Action League worked alongside other Evangelical Christian groups (The North Carolina Family Policy Council, Called2Action), to stir enough stiff opposition to the measure to slow it down enough that it failed to pass the House by the May 24 "crossover deadline" (by which non-appropriation and non-finance bills must pass from one chamber to the other to remain eligible),.
HB 485 Amend Health Education Curriculum, sponsored by Rep. Phil Haire (D-Sylva) requires local boards of education to adopt policies that ensure students in grades 912 receive information each year on the manner in which a parent may safely surrender a newborn. It also makes the information available to students enrolled in charter schools, private religious schools, qualified non-public schools and home schools, though it does not mandate students from private and home schools get the information.
In 2001, the General Assembly enacted legislation that decriminalized the abandonment of an infant less than seven days old under certain circumstances. The purpose of the law was to allow an overwhelmed parent an option other than to abandon their baby in a dumpster or a toilet.
The Safe Surrender law is working in North Carolina and "the proof is in the pudding," said the Greensboro News and Record.
"The Christian Action League has supported the Safe Surrender law since its inception," said Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director of the Christian Action League. "Every time I hear about a baby being saved, I rejoice and thank God such a law is now in place. It's important more people know about this law. It will save lives," he added.
The need for an increased awareness about the law is the reason the Christian Action League strongly supported HB 485 Amend Health Education Curriculum.
Rep. Haire, said, "Rev. Mark Creech and the Christian Action League have, from the day the Safe Surrender Law and this bill were introduced, worked with me to preserve the life of new born babies who might otherwise be abandoned. This support has been invaluable."
Homosexual Rights
HB 493-Defense of Marriage, sponsored by Rep. Tim Moore (R-Cleveland), a bill that proposes allowing the people of North Carolina to amend its Constitution to define marriage as "as one man and one woman," briefly found life this year, but was quickly slain by the Speaker of the House.
For more than four years, both the Senate (SB 13 Defense of Marriage) and House leadership have sent bills to protect marriage to Committees where they would never be heard. Thus, Rep. Moore (R-Cleveland) managed by a rarely used parliamentary maneuver (a recall motion) to get HB 493 a hearing in the House Rules Committee.
During the Rules Committee meeting, House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson), moved to have the bill referred to the House Judiciary I Committee where it would be left to languish until the end of "crossover" essentially killing the measure. But much to the surprise of the small meeting room full of lawmakers, religious conservatives, gay activists and reporters, the motion failed by a vote of 10 to 14. Three Democrats broke party ranks, Rep. Dewey Hill (D-Columbus), Rep. Jim Crawford (D-Granville), Rep. Doug Yongue (D-Scotland) and voted to send the legislation to the House floor for an up or down vote.
The result of the vote seemed to send the Rules Chairman, Rep. Bill Owens (D-Pasquotank) into a tailspin, who immediately called for a recess. During the recess, persons were dispatched to round-up missing members of the Committee: Rep. Paul Luebke (D-Durham), Jennifer Weiss (D-Wake), Dan Blue (D-Wake), Nelson Cole (D-Rockingham), Jim Harrell (D-Surry), and Danny McComas (R-New Hanover). After the Committee reconvened and some of the missing members came in, it was obvious by the headcount that the result of the vote wouldn't change, which prompted the Rules Chairman to entertain a motion to send the bill to the House floor without prejudice. Rep. Harold Brubaker (R-Randolph) then made the motion and it seemed the bill was headed to the House floor.
"We were elated," said Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director of the Christian Action League. "We had never seen that kind of movement on the marriage amendment."
Elation, however, would soon turn to dismay, when supporters of the bill learned that Speaker Joe Hackney vowed to kill it. Hackney told the press: "I said at the beginning of the session that we will control the agenda, and that's what we will do." Unfortunately, Hackney kept his unrighteous pledge by single-handedly referring the measure to the House Judiciary I Committee at the end of Tuesday's floor session.
Creech told the press: "I have always been impressed to believe the Speaker was a man of fairness, but what he did to the Marriage Amendment bill was not fair. The legislation is extremely popular with more than seventy percent of the people of this State. He contends the bill is purely a partisan issue, meant simply for political gain. But how can he say that when the bill has more than 60 sponsors who are both Republican and Democrat. The members of the House ought to be able to vote on this. Most importantly, the people of North Carolina need to be able to define marriage via the ballot box and not have some rogue Judge decide for them what marriage will be."
Despite the fact that a total of 27 States have approved marriage amendments, including all the States in the Southeast except Florida and the Tar Heel State, efforts to amend North Carolina's Constitution to protect this foundational institution were defeated this year.
HB 1366 School Violence Prevention Act, a bill that barely passed the House in May included language that would have created a specially protected class on the basis of one's "sexual orientation" or "gender identity or expression." Under the guise of preventing "bullying" in school, the measure would have legitimized, as well as given legal status to homosexuality and other sexual perversions. Had the legislation passed in both chambers of the House and Senate, it would have been the first time any such classifications had been included in North Carolina state law.
Fortunately, the bill that passed the House was never taken up by the Senate. Instead the Senate would only consider and pass a Proposed Committee Substitute (PCS) of HB 1366 that stripped the measure of the objectionable language. When the Senate's version was returned to the House and it became abundantly apparent the Senate was unwilling to accept the House version, the bill's sponsor, Rep. Rick Glasier (D-Cumberland) moved that HB 1366 be re-referred back to the House Judiciary I Committee, where it would remain eligible to be taken up again in the 2008 short session.
The Christian Action League worked closely with the North Carolina Family Policy Council (NCFPC) in holding back the legislation. John Rustin, head of Government Relations for the NCFPC said: "It is now abundantly clear that this bill is not about protecting students from bullying in school, but is an attempt to use our public schools to indoctrinate our children to accept 'alternative' sexual behaviors as normal and appropriate. When you boil it all down, the only real change this bill would make is to force every local school board in the state to amend their existing anti-bullying and harassment policies to include special protections for 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity or expression.' If this were not the ultimate goal, the proponents of HB 1366
would have accepted the Senate version of the bill and the new law would soon be in effect."
Christian Heritage
SB 88 Clarify Oaths, sponsored by Sen. Ellie Kinnaird (D-Orange) would have allowed for any so-called "sacred text" to be used in making an oath in North Carolina's courtrooms and governmental bodies. It would have placed these texts on an equal footing to that of the Bible and in doing so, clearly denied what our oath law acknowledges that Almighty God is the ultimate authority to whom we must answer.
Essentially, the State would hold that whatever inspires one to tell the truth should be sufficient for the taking of an oath. There doesn't need to be a gauge by which truth is measured. There is no absolute standard with regard to reality or non-reality, legitimate or illegitimate, right or wrong. Truth is simply in the eye of the beholder. And the only god or dogma the state would hold that one is subject to, in telling the truth or swearing an oath, is the one he or she perceives to be the correct one.
"This is not the point of reference for morality and good government ordained by the Founders" said Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director. "It is more aligned with the relativism of the present age, which essentially contends all truth claims are equally valid a new approach to concord in this nation that can only result in anarchy. Kinnaird's proposed legislation would not only be a departure from the State's religious moorings, but also tantamount to an official expression of idolatry," he added.
SB 88 was ultimately pulled from consideration. But the matter was simultaneously being considered by the North Carolina Superior Court at the behest of the ACLU, who was suing on behalf of a Greensboro Muslim woman who wanted to use the Koran when swearing an oath. In that case, Judge Paul Ridgeway ruled that those taking a court oath can use a text "most sacred and obligatory upon their conscience."
For a full explanation on the Christian Action League's position on this controversial legislation go to http://www.christianactionleague.org/pdf/070305.pdf
Sanctity of Human Life
HB 1837 Stem Cell Research and Wellness Act a bill sponsored by Rep. Earl Jones (D- Guilford) and Rep. Jim Gulley (R- Mecklenburg) would have authorized the destruction of human embryos in research carried out with tax payer money.
The original version of the legislation called for an appropriation of $10,000,000 of state money to be given in grants for embryonic stem cell research. But only a modified version of the legislation barely passed the House by a 6055 margin. It authorized the Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission to use state funds to create a committee for establishing guidelines and providing grants to nonprofit organizations conducting embryonic stem cell research in North Carolina. No grants would be given until the North Carolina General Assembly approved the guidelines.
"Although this legislation was better than the original bill and certainly more palatable to some lawmakers," said Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, "it was still unacceptable because it authorized tax payers to foot the bill for research that unquestionably destroys life."
The Senate's unwillingness to take up the legislation was the primary reason for its failure this session. Nevertheless, HB 1837 remains eligible for consideration in the short session, scheduled to begin in May of 2008.
Tobacco
HB 259 Prohibit Smoking in Public and Work Places a bill that would have made restaurants, most bars and all state government buildings smoke-free, failed by a vote of 55-61 on Wednesday (May 2). The bill would have also restored control to local governments to regulate smoking in worksites and public places, protecting a large portion of NC workers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. The Christian Action League supported the legislation.
According to the House Majority Leader and the bill's primary sponsor, Rep. Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson), the purpose of the legislation was to protect the public from the dangers of secondhand smoke.
During debate on the measure Holliman argued: "This bill is in keeping with government's duty and responsibility to protect the public health when there is compelling evidence of a threat to the public health. Government has, for example, acted in the past to protect the public by enacting laws to improve and enforce restaurant sanitation practices; require the abatement or removal of asbestos and other carcinogens from the air we breathe. This legislation is in that same vein."
The failure of the measure was a surprise to many. More than a dozen Democrats voted against the bill, some who at the last moment broke their promise to vote for it, while all but five Republicans voted against it.
The primary argument offered against the proposal was that it was a violation of property rights. But during the more than two hours of spirited debate, Holliman rightly argued that the bill was "not about personal freedoms. It's not about business property rights...This is a health issue bill."
"I believe Holliman was right," said Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director of the Christian Action League, "to argue property rights in this case is about as anemic an argument as when Southerners passionately argued the Civil War wasn't about slavery and human dignity, but about State's rights and property rights." "I believe this is how history will ultimately judge that argument," he added.
Certainly the most passionate, as well as courageous speech in favor of the smoking ban was given by Rep. Jeff Barnhart (R-Cabarrus). Barnhart explained his non-smoking father-in-law had died of lung cancer because he had been exposed to secondhand smoke in the work place. Barnhart said he was disappointed with some of his colleagues that were contending property rights trumps an issue of life and death. "When you talk about freedoms, I think somebody else's freedom ends when it enters my lungs.
I guess I'm voting in favor of my father-in-law, but I'm also voting for his grandchildren who he didn't get to know him," said Barnhart.
Death Penalty
S 114 Execution/Physician Assistance Authorized, sponsored by Sen. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and HB 442 Execution/Physician Assistance Authorized, sponsored by Rep. Tim Moore, (D-Cleveland) are two bills the Christian Action League supported which would have ended the current de facto moratorium on the death penalty in North Carolina. The legislation would prohibit the North Carolina Medical Board from disciplining doctors for their involvement in executions.
North Carolina law requires a physician be present to monitor the process of lethal injection. But the North Carolina Medical Board says the practice violates the ethics of saving life.
In September, Superior Court Judge Donald Stevens ruled that the practice of the death penalty is not a medical procedure and doctors can only be banned from them by legislative action.
Currently, there is no will in the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal the death penalty. But neither is there any will by the House or Senate leadership to allow legislation that would clarify and sustain its administration.
Executive Director, Rev. Mark Creech noted: "It's vitally important lawmakers act to end North Carolina's current moratorium on the death penalty. In Texas, an unofficial moratorium on executions was implemented during most of 1996 and early 1997. A study by Dale O. Cloniger and Roberto Marchesini revealed that as a result of the execution hiatus, the state appeared to have spared few, if any, condemned prisoners, while the citizens of Texas experienced an added loss of 90 innocent lives to homicide, over and above what would have been expected had no moratorium been in place. Based on this study, if North Carolina experiences a similar surge, North Carolina's de-facto moratorium could result in an additional 50 people being murdered over and above what would have been expected."
Local Option Alcohol Referenda
This year, the Christian Action League assisted two communities in fighting alcohol referendums Elkin and Farmville, North Carolina.
Elkin, North Carolina lost its fight against Liquor-By-The Drink. Rev. Johnny Blevins, pastor of Elkin Valley Baptist Church said he believed that absentee ballots made the difference in the election.
Some 40 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, with liquor by the drink passing, 591 to 514. The margin in absentee voters was 124, with 169 supporting the referendum and 45 opposed.
A supporter of Progress Elkin, the organization leading the push for mixed drinks, posted an electronic petition of sorts on www.facebook.com, urging visitors to the site to
vote for the referendum and touting the increased access to alcohol that the move would bring.
"This vote could mean a lot to our local businesses. And of course, we'd get more access to alcohol! Woohoo!!" wrote Elizabeth Hendrick, a 2006 Meredith College graduate and now a student at UNC Charlotte. Her site reminded potential voters to make sure they had met the voter registration deadline and to complete absentee ballots if they did not plan to be in town on June 12.
More than 110 facebook members, the vast majority either college students or recent grads, joined Hendrick's site, with many posts urging voters to go to the polls early.
In retrospect, Blevins said his group should probably have set up a presence on the Web to gather more support. Dr. Stephen Walker, co-chair of Citizens for a Drug Free Elkin, agreed, saying the unusually high number of absentee ballots may have been from college students influenced by the facebook page.
The Christian Action League has offered and provided support for citizens in Farmville, who at the writing of this report were fighting a liquor-by-the-drink referendum. The election is scheduled for November 6.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rev. Mark H. Creech, Executive Director
Dr. David Hansley, President
809 Spring Forest Road, Ste 1000
Raleigh, N.C. 27609
Phone: 919.787.0606
Email: calact@aol.com
The Christian Action League of North Carolina is a Christian public policy organization that addresses public policy and legislative issues from a Christian worldview. The Christian Action League has a full-time presence in the General Assembly of North Carolina and has garnered considerable respect from both the Republican and Democratic parties. The League's purpose is to assist the church in fulfilling Christ's command to be the "salt" and the "light" of the earth. The following report contains ministry highlights for 2007:
- CAL continues to provide critical information regarding social and moral issues via its interactive website www.christianactionleague.org. The website seeks to keep the church abreast of the latest developments in the culture war both from a national and statewide perspective. The website provides two daily national Christian newswires, one from One News Now and the other from Baptist Press. Moreover, for the sports enthusiast there is Baptist Sports. Most importantly, the web site includes up-to-date news coverage concerning the most important stories affecting the moral climate of the Tar Heel State. Also included are educational and research materials in the Issues File, and a nationally syndicated editorial by CAL's Executive Director, Rev. Mark H. Creech. In just over 1500 days, CAL has had nearly 90,000 hits on its web site.
- Each week CAL publishes a Weekly Email Issues Alert. This alert is essentially an Email Magazine, which is quite comprehensive in covering issues of moral import in the State legislature, politics, and other concerns. The areas covered include: N.C. General Assembly, N.C. Politics, N.C. News, U.S. Congress, Courts, Christianity/Pro-family/Religion, Abortion/Pro-Life, Alcohol/Drugs/Health, Education/Sex-Ed/Children, God and Country/National Security/ Politics, Pornography/Homosexuality/Immorality, and Gambling. Those interested in receiving the Weekly email Issues Alert should go to CAL's website at www.christainactionleague.org and click on "Sign Up To Be A Beacon of Light" or "Email Alerts" in the Menu section and follow the prompts.
- To promote Christian values in the home, church and the work place, CAL offers two beautiful prints of The Ten Commandments and God's Covenant with America. For a small donation, these prints can either be secured separately or together, simply as a print or framed. Those interested in the prints should contact CAL at 919.787.0606.
- Rev. Mark H. Creech, Executive Director of the CAL, has advanced Christian principles throughout North Carolina and the nation in numerous speaking engagements that included denominational meetings, church worship services, political rallies, revival meetings, legislative chapel services, press conferences, media interviews, conventions and seminars.
This year, the Christian Action League initiated, as well as lobbied for the passage of Senate Bill 125 Alcohol Inhalers Illegal, which was sponsored by Sen. Steve Goss (D-Watauga). The legislation, which passed both the House and Senate by a unanimous margin, bans the manufacture, sale, gift, delivery, possession or use of an AWOL machine. AWOL stands for Alcohol Without Liquid and refers to a device that one may pour his/her favorite spirit (an 80-proof liquor is what the AWOL Marketers recommend) into that mixes the alcoholic beverage with oxygen to produce a mist that is inhaled through the mouth, allowing alcohol to enter the bloodstream through the lungs and going straight to the brain for a rapid and intense high. The device has been marketed as "the ultimate party toy" and its sole purpose is to get people inebriated.
Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League first learned about the dangers of these (alcohol without liquid) machines last year at the American Council on Alcohol Problems Annual Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. "My concern grew when I learned these machines were being sold throughout the United States and were coming out of North Carolina from Greensboro-based Spirit Partners Inc." said Creech
"Today more than a third of young people begin drinking by eighth grade and 5 million U.S. high school students binge drink at least once a month. With those kinds of alcohol abuse statistics staring us in the face, imagine what would happen if users could fast track the mind-altering effects of alcohol and, at the same time, sidestep the hangover.... That's exactly the appeal of AWOL," he added.
Fortunately, lawmakers agreed with CAL that such devices should be banned to protect the public health. Twenty-two other states had already banned the devices, but CAL's legislation had a national impact because it has at least temporarily shut down the business distributing the devices based in North Carolina.
HB 1277 Drivers License Revocation for ABC Violation, sponsored by Rep. Ty Harrell (D-Wake) was a great victory for the Christian Action League. Last year a tragic automobile accident took the lives of four Wakefield High School students in Raleigh: Baker Wood, Steven George, Anthony Bostic, and Timothy Steinberg. According to authorities, Wood was driving 100 miles per hour when the car the teens were riding in slammed into a concrete barrier on the US 64/264 ramp of the Raleigh beltline, then jumped the barrier and fell to a fiery crash 60 feet below. Alcohol was a factor in the accident. Wood's blood alcohol level was 0.21; George's was 0.14. far above the 0.8 legal limit.
Since that time, Steve and Kathleen George, parents of the deceased Steven George, tirelessly worked to create some meaning to their son's death. They say they were unaware of how their son got the alcohol that fateful night, but they were deeply concerned adults are a large part of the underage drinking problem and its sometimes fatal consequences.
Unfortunately, the Georges were right in their assessment. This is why the Christian Action League worked closely with Rep. Ty Harrell (D-Wake) to help secure the passage of HB 1277, which would suspend the driver's license for up to one year of anyone convicted of providing booze for underage drinkers.
Many people don't understand the most common source of alcohol for minors is the home. Parents are under the assumption that if they allow parties where alcohol is served either in their house or backyard, youngsters will be safe. But the fact is when adults serve alcohol to someone under 21 they are breaking the law and putting teens at risk. Laws that make these adults accountable are essential.
Asheboro, North Carolina is an example of a city that is totally "alcohol dry" that has received numerous awards for bringing industry and business with many fine restaurants and new hotels into the community, thus providing clear and convincing evidence that alcohol sales are not necessary for economic growth.
HB 1139 ABC Law Changes, sponsored by Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Union) would have made this "shining city on a hill" a "Tourism ABC Establishment," which would have given the Asheboro City Council the sole authority for voting in alcohol sales and not a city-wide referendum.
The legislation received its first hearing from the House ABC Committee, where Rev. Mark Creech spoke against the measure.
Creech told the Committee the legislation was unfair to Asheboro, which had made it clear in previous referendums and the failure of a recent petition drive that they wanted to remain "dry." Appealing to the Golden Rule, Creech told lawmakers that circumventing local option alcohol referenda was like enacting legislation that would throw the results of the last election in favor of their opponent. He said, "How would you feel? Outraged? Angry? Disappointed? Helpless? Would it cause you to lose faith in your government? This is exactly how communities feel that vote against alcohol sales in
one form or another, when suddenly they learn the legislature, for whatever perceived legitimate reason, has given an establishment in their community an alcohol permit they clearly voted against. It undermines their faith in this process."
The House ABC Committee then proceeded to remove the language affecting Asheboro, which only left the bill with minor provisions that addressed innocuous technical changes in North Carolina's alcohol policy.
A Proposed Committee Substitute (PCS) for SB 838 ABC Law Changes. AB, sponsored by Sen. Stan Bingham (R-Davidson) was considered before the Senate Commerce Committee, Tuesday, July 10. The PCS removed the good provisions from the original draft of SB 838 that would have increased penalties and fines for alcoholic beverage control violations. Sen. Stan Bingham, the bill's sponsor testified he removed the provisions at the request of the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association, who expressed the fines could cause a serious hardship for some retailers.
Most of the meeting, however, was about addressing the proposal in Section 6 of the measure that would have allowed local governments and non-profits to "sell" alcoholic beverages at fundraising events.
Current statutes already allow these groups to serve (give away) alcoholic beverages as an act of hospitality at a fundraising effort. Section 6. G.S. 18B-1002(5) presently reads: "A permit may be issued to a unit of local government, or to a non-profit organization or a political organization to serve wine, malt beverages, and spirituous liquor at a ticketed event held to allow the unit of local government or organization to raise funds."
Officials from the North Carolina ABC Commission argued in favor of the measure saying the current statute needed clarification. The words "serve" and "spirituous liquors," they contended, were not clear and might be up for interpretation. Therefore, they believed it was necessary to change the language to add the words "sell" and "mixed beverages" to the statute.
Two amendments were offered to the measure during debate. The first proposed amendment failed and the second succeeded.
The first amendment would have allowed local governments and non-profits to "sell" or "serve" alcoholic beverages, but only in compliance with alcohol policy in the locale of the fundraiser. For example: If a non-profit wished to "sell" or "serve" alcoholic beverages as a part of their fundraiser in a dry city, it would not be allowed. If the same was attempted in a city that allowed only beer and wine sales, only beer and wine could be served or sold, etc. This amendment, though a close vote, failed because it would in certain situations have removed the current privilege of serving or giving away alcoholic beverages at some fundraisers.
The second amendment offered to strip the proposed amendments to change the language of Section 6 and simply keep the status quo. This amendment passed almost unanimously rejecting the concept of allowing local governments and non-profits to "sell" alcoholic beverages for fundraisers.
SB 1478 Manufacturer Coupons/Purchasing ABC Products, sponsored by Sen. Ed Jones (D-Bertie) and HB 1534 Manufacturer Coupons/Purchasing ABC Products, sponsored by Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Union), would have allowed retail merchants in North Carolina to issue coupons or utilize membership, discount or loyalty cards to provide a discount off the price of beer and wine sold by retailers for off premises consumption.
This measure was essentially a remake of a provision tucked inside a bill from last year (HB 1025 Winemaking on Premises Permit) that was removed by a Senate Committee which was being pushed by the most powerful lobby in the State the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association. The provision was later resurrected on the House side and placed inside another bill (SB 8282006 Viticulture/Enology Act), which passed the House ABC Committee, but was ultimately removed from the House Calendar and sent back to the House ABC Committee to die. A prevailing concern against the coupons provision was the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission already had the authority to effect the proposal by a simple rules change; therefore, the General Assembly ought to allow them to do their job. The NCRMA then petitioned the ABC Commission for the rules change, which held a hearing, where the Christian Action League argued against the measure and the ABC Commission ruled against it.
CAL's argument this year against the return of this legislation was the same as when it strongly opposed it before the ABC Commission. CAL said that it presented a public heath risk on a number of levels. Numerous are the studies revealing that any time appealing advertising is teamed with offering a discount on alcohol sales, consumption levels dangerously rise. Not only should there be concern about the way this legislation would put people with addiction problems at risk, but there should also be concern about its potential for exacerbating the problems of underage drinking and college binge drinking rates.
One of the key selling points of the North Carolina Retail Merchant's Association was that the legislation would equalize what retailers could do with what the spirituous liquor stores were already doing. But it would not have equalized anything, but instead have given retailers an advantage that the state liquor stores did not have.
ABC stores in North Carolina offer coupons on less than one half of one percent of the items listed for sale and are generally for the larger and more expensive brands. The coupons they offer are manufacturer's mail-in coupons. But the Christian Action League rightly argued that a retailer would not be so limited, but could offer discounts via coupons on all its beer and wine products for as much as 50% off and the benefit would have been immediate. Moreover, the hours of liquor stores are limited and the hours of retailers are not, allowing for greater sales by retailers. People under 21 are prohibited from entering most ABC stores. But no such limitation is placed on the thousands of grocery and convenience stores that sell beer and wine products that are relatively cheap in price and easily accessible to youth.
When CAL opposed the North Carolina Retail Merchant's Association's arguments on this measure before the North Carolina ABC Commission, it was able to put together a coalition of foes that included the Christian Action League, Octavia Rainey, a well-known black Raleigh inner city activists, the North Carolina Association of Convenience Stores and the Coalition for Alcohol and Drug Free Teenagers of Chapel
Hill and Carboro.
CAL was also able to secure some of the most respected names in public health and alcohol policy to write letters to the Chairman of the North Carolina ABC Commission expressing their opposition to the measure. Those names included: Kim Miller, Manager of Federal Relations and head of the alcohol policies project of the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington D.C., Dan Ireland, Executive Director of the American Council on Alcohol Problems in Birmingham, Alabama, Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, Executive Director of the National Association of Alcohol Drug Addiction Counselors in Alexandria. Virginia, Dr. John C. Nelson, who up until 2006 was the President of the American Medical Association, Henry Wechsler, Director of the College Alcohol Study of the Harvard School of Public Health, Barbara Alvarez Martin, a former member of the 2005 North Carolina Governor's Task Force on Driving While Impaired, and also formerly director of the NC Initiative to Reduce Underage Drinking, Dr. Philip Cook, a renowned economist and a Terry Sanford Professor of Public Policy at Duke University, and Darrell Jernigan, Director of the Governor's Highway Safety Program all wrote letters vigorously opposing the proposal of alcohol coupons for retail stores.
CAL was even able to garner the support of First Lady, Mary Easley, who is the national co-chair for the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free to write the Chairman. In her letter the First Lady said: "Many retailers argue that, if clerks are following the law consumers who are under the legal drinking age will not benefit from these discounts. This is not true. Seventy percent of youth report obtaining alcohol from a person they know who is over 21 and who would use these discounts. Public health advocates agree that a decrease in alcohol price will affect alcohol availability to minors and compound the many challenges facing law enforcement, educators, counselors and state and local leaders who are working tirelessly to reduce and prevent underage drinking in our communities...Alcohol is already currently available at almost every turn at the grocery, convenience, or drug store aisle and consumers can easily find a six-pack of beer or bottle of wine priced lower than some brands of sodas or bottled water. In addition, alcohol advertising has saturated our society to the point where our children can name more brands of beer than they can American presidents. Why do we need to give consumers one more incentive to purchase a product associated with so many risk and harmful consequences?"
As one can imagine, this year when the legislation was resurrected and lawmakers read CAL's research on the matter and could see the strength of the experts aligned against it and more importantly, when they perceived the Governor would likely veto the bill if it arrived on his desk, neither the House or Senate versions of the bill were heard before their respective committees.
This was the third time this critical legislation backed by the most powerful lobby in North Carolina was turned back.
1230 Scenic Byways Bed and Breakfasts Inns, sponsored by Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Union), had it passed, would have allowed a qualifying Bed and Breakfast Inn in Watauga County to offer liquor by the drink despite the fact voters in the mountain
county had made it clear their intent to allow only beer and wine sales and only in incorporated areas.
The Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director of the Christian Action League, argued before the House ABC Committee against the legislation saying it was an end-run around local option alcohol referenda. 'It is a circumvention of the vote of the people," he said.
To help prevent the backdoor move, Creech called the Rev. Allan Blume, pastor of Mount Vernon Baptist Church and asked him to warn the county's residents. Blume contacted the Chamber of Commerce director who contacted Rep. Cullie Tarleton (D-Watauga), to hear his take on the matter. Blume also called leaders in the Republican Party to ask for help in informing the populace.
Within a very short time, 500 people in the county got e-mails asking them to contact their legislators and tell them how they felt about the bills, Blume said, adding that Rep. Tarleton had promised to carry out his constituents' wishes if the bills came to a vote.
Former Watauga County commissioner Keith Honeycutt learned about the bills from CAL and immediately contacted the present Commission Chairman, who had no idea there was a move afoot to subvert local alcohol laws. The word spread among commissioners and when they met Tuesday night, they amended their agenda to discuss the matter and voted unanimously to take a stand against the bills and ask their state representatives to do the same.
"Tarleton said he got hundreds of e-mails and several phone calls from concerned citizens," Honeycutt said. The freshman legislator apparently contacted Rep. Gibson (D-Union), the bill's primary sponsor and asked him to pull the bill.
"Gibson withdrew the bill and sent it back to the ABC Committee apparently for it to die there," said Creech, who was pleased to see the people of Watauga take a quick and decisive stand on the matter.
Both Blume and Honeycutt credited CAL for fast action and accurate information. "This is the second time the Christian Action League has brought this kind of legislation to our attention and both times we were able to act on it," Honeycutt said. "Mark (Creech) was in the forefront, getting the information to us so that we that we knew exactly what we were talking about when we went to the County Commission."
"We certainly would not have known about it, and there is a good chance it would have slipped on by. We're thankful to Rev. Creech for contacting us," Blume said. "Our church has the Christian Action League in our monthly budget. And an incident like this underscores for us that our support for this organization certainly pays off. Otherwise, we could have been blindsided and had this alcohol legislation jammed down our throats."
HB 1630 Increase Small Brewery Limits, sponsored by Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford), would have increased the limit of barrels of production (from 25,000 to 60,000) by small breweries in North Carolina before the brewery would be required to use a wholesale distributor to distribute its products. What made the legislation bad was that it bypassed the three-tier system of alcohol control in North Carolina. Before prohibition there were only two-tiers the producers and the retailers. After prohibition to prevent
marketing abuses that had characterized producer-retailer relationships, the three-tier system, which included wholesalers as the middleman, was established as a means of better control over the distribution and availability of alcoholic beverages. Today sixty-nine percent of Americans are opposed to the direct shipment of alcoholic beverages. HB 1630 would have undermined this system of control in North Carolina. Fortunately, the measure was sent to the House Committee on Commerce, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, where it was never taken up for consideration.
HB 1706 ABC Laws Study Commission, sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Love (D-Harnett), called for an Alcoholic Beverage Control Laws Study Commission that "would review the current Alcoholic Beverage Control Laws in Chapter 18B of the General Statutes and the Rules of the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission to identify those statutes and rules that may be obsolete or unconstitutional and to recommend proposed legislation and rules to streamline the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission."
This legislation, unfortunately, largely grew out of lawmakers amending local option alcohol referenda so often to allow special provisions for alcohol permits now the state's current system of alcohol control has been seriously convoluted and needs simplification.
Local option alcohol referenda has been taken apart piece by piece and General Statutes 18B of North Carolina's alcohol control policy contains numerous unconstitutional statutes.
The threat is that a Commission made up of lawmakers would likely recommend legislation that would wet the entire State as the solution. Also possible is the threat that such a Commission might recommend privatization of alcohol sales.
HB 1706 ABC Laws Study Commission was ultimately rolled into the 2007 Studies Bill, which passed the House, but was never taken up by the Senate. Because the measure was a study bill, the Christian Action League took no position on it.
Another bill that the Christian Action League took no position on was SB 661 ABC Election-Cities in Two Counties. The legislation, which passed the General Assembly amends the current ABC statutes to provide cities straddling more than one county to hold a liquor-by-the-drink election without having an ABC store election if at least one municipality in any of the counties in which the city is located operates an ABC store.
Before, to have a liquor-by-the-drink election in a city located in more than one county (1) there had to be at least 500 registered voters in the city, (2) the city had to operate an ABC store (3) if the city did not operate an ABC store then one of the counties where the city was located must operate ABC stores county-wide, (4) the city ABC store election had to be held at the same time as the liquor-by-the-drink election.
The purpose of this legislation (SB 1661) was to provide certain cities located in more than one county with a means to have a liquor-by-the-drink election when the counties wherein the cities were located did not operate ABC stores county-wide. Such cites were in a unique circumstance and unable to have a liquor-by-the-drink election on a basis equal with that of other cities in North Carolina.
The negative to this legislation was that the measure created an inconsistency in North Carolina's current alcohol election statutes in that it allows cities in more than one
county to have a liquor-by-the-drink election without requiring them to place the ABC store question on the ballot at the same time.
The legislation affects 11 cities, including: Beech Mountain, Blowing Rock, Broadway, Harrels, Highlands, Kings Mountain, Locust, Rhodiss, Saluda, Seven Devils, and Stanfield.
The primary sponsor of the legislation, Sen. William Purcell (D-Scotland) argued that he introduced the measure at the request of the city council of Locust, North Carolina.
Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League said:
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"This was one of the most complicated pieces of alcohol legislation we've ever had to deal with. It took a long time to arrive at a position, which was to have no position. It is true that Locust and other cities like it are in a unique circumstance and unable to have a liquor-by-the-drink election as any one else. The Christian Action League supports local option alcohol referenda. Communities should be able to decide their own destiny with respect to alcohol sales. The Christian Action League does not oppose making the election process fair. Nevertheless, we can neither favor this bill because some concerned citizens in Locust have told us they would rather not have this question put to their community. For those that would argue the measure should be opposed because cities in more than one county would be given a more privileged election allowing them to consider the liquor-by-the-drink question without having to put the ABC store question on the ballot at the same time let me say the negatives of that, I think, are cancelled out by (1) its not necessary by law to approve an ABC store in order to have liquor-by-the-drink that requirement does nothing to make liquor-by-the-drink harder to approve, and (2) requiring that the ABC store question be placed on the ballot at the same time could lead to the approval of liquor-by-the-drink and ABC stores thus a proliferation of alcohol outlets.
HB 879 Modify School Health Education Program, sponsored by Rep. Susan Fisher (D-Buncombe) would have struck down the requirement that only "abstinence until marriage" sex education curriculums be taught in North Carolina public schools. The proposed legislation would instead have taught comprehensive sex education (CSE) and provided information on alternate lifestyles and gender identity, without bias. Students would have also been educated about emergency contraception.
Under a comprehensive sex education program the primary emphasis is upon the "safe-sex" message.
Studies clearly show that when "abstinence until marriage" curriculums are correctly implemented, they are highly effective in delaying teenage sexual activity, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.
Proponents of comprehensive sex education claim, in effect, that the vast majority of young people are unable to abstain from sex. So, because they cannot avoid the risk by abstaining, adults need to help them by providing the best risk-reduction measures. These measures are primarily based on providing access to condoms and instructions on how to use them.
This risk-reduction approach, however, is inconsistent with the message that the medical community and the public in general present to youth regarding other high-risk behaviors.
From tobacco, alcohol and drug use to fighting, gun use and drunken driving, the prevailing message is "don't do it" avoid or eliminate the risk. But when it comes to sex and all the potential dangers that accompany it, sadly, the message is, "Use condoms to reduce your risk of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases."
A risk-reduction strategy is totally inconsistent with the longstanding primary-prevention medical model. And it proves that the promotion of comprehensive sex education in schools is really driven by radical dogma, not by medical or scientific reasons.
The approach also has an unintended consequence. By recommending condom usage to teenagers, four dangerous ideas are conveyed: (1) that "safe-sex" is achievable; (2) that everybody is doing it; (3) that responsible adults expect them to do it; and (4) it's a good thing. These are destructive messages to send to kids, messages that breed promiscuity.
But there is another reason why abstinence-based education is superior to comprehensive sex education. It has to do with the Creator's design for sex, God's expressed will for human sexuality. "Protected promiscuity" has no part in that plan. Sex within the context for which it was intended lifelong, monogamous marriage is always safe. This is the message kids need to hear from the earliest days of childhood. Anything less is worse than third-rate and cannot guarantee protection from the harmful physical and emotional effects of sex outside of marriage.
The Christian Action League worked alongside other Evangelical Christian groups (The North Carolina Family Policy Council, Called2Action), to stir enough stiff opposition to the measure to slow it down enough that it failed to pass the House by the May 24 "crossover deadline" (by which non-appropriation and non-finance bills must pass from one chamber to the other to remain eligible),.
HB 485 Amend Health Education Curriculum, sponsored by Rep. Phil Haire (D-Sylva) requires local boards of education to adopt policies that ensure students in grades 912 receive information each year on the manner in which a parent may safely surrender a newborn. It also makes the information available to students enrolled in charter schools, private religious schools, qualified non-public schools and home schools, though it does not mandate students from private and home schools get the information.
In 2001, the General Assembly enacted legislation that decriminalized the abandonment of an infant less than seven days old under certain circumstances. The purpose of the law was to allow an overwhelmed parent an option other than to abandon their baby in a dumpster or a toilet.
The Safe Surrender law is working in North Carolina and "the proof is in the pudding," said the Greensboro News and Record.
"The Christian Action League has supported the Safe Surrender law since its inception," said Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director of the Christian Action League. "Every time I hear about a baby being saved, I rejoice and thank God such a law is now in place. It's important more people know about this law. It will save lives," he added.
The need for an increased awareness about the law is the reason the Christian Action League strongly supported HB 485 Amend Health Education Curriculum.
Rep. Haire, said, "Rev. Mark Creech and the Christian Action League have, from the day the Safe Surrender Law and this bill were introduced, worked with me to preserve the life of new born babies who might otherwise be abandoned. This support has been invaluable."
HB 493-Defense of Marriage, sponsored by Rep. Tim Moore (R-Cleveland), a bill that proposes allowing the people of North Carolina to amend its Constitution to define marriage as "as one man and one woman," briefly found life this year, but was quickly slain by the Speaker of the House.
For more than four years, both the Senate (SB 13 Defense of Marriage) and House leadership have sent bills to protect marriage to Committees where they would never be heard. Thus, Rep. Moore (R-Cleveland) managed by a rarely used parliamentary maneuver (a recall motion) to get HB 493 a hearing in the House Rules Committee.
During the Rules Committee meeting, House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson), moved to have the bill referred to the House Judiciary I Committee where it would be left to languish until the end of "crossover" essentially killing the measure. But much to the surprise of the small meeting room full of lawmakers, religious conservatives, gay activists and reporters, the motion failed by a vote of 10 to 14. Three Democrats broke party ranks, Rep. Dewey Hill (D-Columbus), Rep. Jim Crawford (D-Granville), Rep. Doug Yongue (D-Scotland) and voted to send the legislation to the House floor for an up or down vote.
The result of the vote seemed to send the Rules Chairman, Rep. Bill Owens (D-Pasquotank) into a tailspin, who immediately called for a recess. During the recess, persons were dispatched to round-up missing members of the Committee: Rep. Paul Luebke (D-Durham), Jennifer Weiss (D-Wake), Dan Blue (D-Wake), Nelson Cole (D-Rockingham), Jim Harrell (D-Surry), and Danny McComas (R-New Hanover). After the Committee reconvened and some of the missing members came in, it was obvious by the headcount that the result of the vote wouldn't change, which prompted the Rules Chairman to entertain a motion to send the bill to the House floor without prejudice. Rep. Harold Brubaker (R-Randolph) then made the motion and it seemed the bill was headed to the House floor.
"We were elated," said Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director of the Christian Action League. "We had never seen that kind of movement on the marriage amendment."
Elation, however, would soon turn to dismay, when supporters of the bill learned that Speaker Joe Hackney vowed to kill it. Hackney told the press: "I said at the beginning of the session that we will control the agenda, and that's what we will do." Unfortunately, Hackney kept his unrighteous pledge by single-handedly referring the measure to the House Judiciary I Committee at the end of Tuesday's floor session.
Creech told the press: "I have always been impressed to believe the Speaker was a man of fairness, but what he did to the Marriage Amendment bill was not fair. The legislation is extremely popular with more than seventy percent of the people of this State. He contends the bill is purely a partisan issue, meant simply for political gain. But how can he say that when the bill has more than 60 sponsors who are both Republican and Democrat. The members of the House ought to be able to vote on this. Most importantly, the people of North Carolina need to be able to define marriage via the ballot box and not have some rogue Judge decide for them what marriage will be."
Despite the fact that a total of 27 States have approved marriage amendments, including all the States in the Southeast except Florida and the Tar Heel State, efforts to amend North Carolina's Constitution to protect this foundational institution were defeated this year.
HB 1366 School Violence Prevention Act, a bill that barely passed the House in May included language that would have created a specially protected class on the basis of one's "sexual orientation" or "gender identity or expression." Under the guise of preventing "bullying" in school, the measure would have legitimized, as well as given legal status to homosexuality and other sexual perversions. Had the legislation passed in both chambers of the House and Senate, it would have been the first time any such classifications had been included in North Carolina state law.
Fortunately, the bill that passed the House was never taken up by the Senate. Instead the Senate would only consider and pass a Proposed Committee Substitute (PCS) of HB 1366 that stripped the measure of the objectionable language. When the Senate's version was returned to the House and it became abundantly apparent the Senate was unwilling to accept the House version, the bill's sponsor, Rep. Rick Glasier (D-Cumberland) moved that HB 1366 be re-referred back to the House Judiciary I Committee, where it would remain eligible to be taken up again in the 2008 short session.
The Christian Action League worked closely with the North Carolina Family Policy Council (NCFPC) in holding back the legislation. John Rustin, head of Government Relations for the NCFPC said: "It is now abundantly clear that this bill is not about protecting students from bullying in school, but is an attempt to use our public schools to indoctrinate our children to accept 'alternative' sexual behaviors as normal and appropriate. When you boil it all down, the only real change this bill would make is to force every local school board in the state to amend their existing anti-bullying and harassment policies to include special protections for 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity or expression.' If this were not the ultimate goal, the proponents of HB 1366
would have accepted the Senate version of the bill and the new law would soon be in effect."
SB 88 Clarify Oaths, sponsored by Sen. Ellie Kinnaird (D-Orange) would have allowed for any so-called "sacred text" to be used in making an oath in North Carolina's courtrooms and governmental bodies. It would have placed these texts on an equal footing to that of the Bible and in doing so, clearly denied what our oath law acknowledges that Almighty God is the ultimate authority to whom we must answer.
Essentially, the State would hold that whatever inspires one to tell the truth should be sufficient for the taking of an oath. There doesn't need to be a gauge by which truth is measured. There is no absolute standard with regard to reality or non-reality, legitimate or illegitimate, right or wrong. Truth is simply in the eye of the beholder. And the only god or dogma the state would hold that one is subject to, in telling the truth or swearing an oath, is the one he or she perceives to be the correct one.
"This is not the point of reference for morality and good government ordained by the Founders" said Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director. "It is more aligned with the relativism of the present age, which essentially contends all truth claims are equally valid a new approach to concord in this nation that can only result in anarchy. Kinnaird's proposed legislation would not only be a departure from the State's religious moorings, but also tantamount to an official expression of idolatry," he added.
SB 88 was ultimately pulled from consideration. But the matter was simultaneously being considered by the North Carolina Superior Court at the behest of the ACLU, who was suing on behalf of a Greensboro Muslim woman who wanted to use the Koran when swearing an oath. In that case, Judge Paul Ridgeway ruled that those taking a court oath can use a text "most sacred and obligatory upon their conscience."
For a full explanation on the Christian Action League's position on this controversial legislation go to http://www.christianactionleague.org/pdf/070305.pdf
HB 1837 Stem Cell Research and Wellness Act a bill sponsored by Rep. Earl Jones (D- Guilford) and Rep. Jim Gulley (R- Mecklenburg) would have authorized the destruction of human embryos in research carried out with tax payer money.
The original version of the legislation called for an appropriation of $10,000,000 of state money to be given in grants for embryonic stem cell research. But only a modified version of the legislation barely passed the House by a 6055 margin. It authorized the Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission to use state funds to create a committee for establishing guidelines and providing grants to nonprofit organizations conducting embryonic stem cell research in North Carolina. No grants would be given until the North Carolina General Assembly approved the guidelines.
"Although this legislation was better than the original bill and certainly more palatable to some lawmakers," said Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, "it was still unacceptable because it authorized tax payers to foot the bill for research that unquestionably destroys life."
The Senate's unwillingness to take up the legislation was the primary reason for its failure this session. Nevertheless, HB 1837 remains eligible for consideration in the short session, scheduled to begin in May of 2008.
HB 259 Prohibit Smoking in Public and Work Places a bill that would have made restaurants, most bars and all state government buildings smoke-free, failed by a vote of 55-61 on Wednesday (May 2). The bill would have also restored control to local governments to regulate smoking in worksites and public places, protecting a large portion of NC workers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. The Christian Action League supported the legislation.
According to the House Majority Leader and the bill's primary sponsor, Rep. Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson), the purpose of the legislation was to protect the public from the dangers of secondhand smoke.
During debate on the measure Holliman argued: "This bill is in keeping with government's duty and responsibility to protect the public health when there is compelling evidence of a threat to the public health. Government has, for example, acted in the past to protect the public by enacting laws to improve and enforce restaurant sanitation practices; require the abatement or removal of asbestos and other carcinogens from the air we breathe. This legislation is in that same vein."
The failure of the measure was a surprise to many. More than a dozen Democrats voted against the bill, some who at the last moment broke their promise to vote for it, while all but five Republicans voted against it.
The primary argument offered against the proposal was that it was a violation of property rights. But during the more than two hours of spirited debate, Holliman rightly argued that the bill was "not about personal freedoms. It's not about business property rights...This is a health issue bill."
"I believe Holliman was right," said Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director of the Christian Action League, "to argue property rights in this case is about as anemic an argument as when Southerners passionately argued the Civil War wasn't about slavery and human dignity, but about State's rights and property rights." "I believe this is how history will ultimately judge that argument," he added.
Certainly the most passionate, as well as courageous speech in favor of the smoking ban was given by Rep. Jeff Barnhart (R-Cabarrus). Barnhart explained his non-smoking father-in-law had died of lung cancer because he had been exposed to secondhand smoke in the work place. Barnhart said he was disappointed with some of his colleagues that were contending property rights trumps an issue of life and death. "When you talk about freedoms, I think somebody else's freedom ends when it enters my lungs.
I guess I'm voting in favor of my father-in-law, but I'm also voting for his grandchildren who he didn't get to know him," said Barnhart.
S 114 Execution/Physician Assistance Authorized, sponsored by Sen. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and HB 442 Execution/Physician Assistance Authorized, sponsored by Rep. Tim Moore, (D-Cleveland) are two bills the Christian Action League supported which would have ended the current de facto moratorium on the death penalty in North Carolina. The legislation would prohibit the North Carolina Medical Board from disciplining doctors for their involvement in executions.
North Carolina law requires a physician be present to monitor the process of lethal injection. But the North Carolina Medical Board says the practice violates the ethics of saving life.
In September, Superior Court Judge Donald Stevens ruled that the practice of the death penalty is not a medical procedure and doctors can only be banned from them by legislative action.
Currently, there is no will in the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal the death penalty. But neither is there any will by the House or Senate leadership to allow legislation that would clarify and sustain its administration.
Executive Director, Rev. Mark Creech noted: "It's vitally important lawmakers act to end North Carolina's current moratorium on the death penalty. In Texas, an unofficial moratorium on executions was implemented during most of 1996 and early 1997. A study by Dale O. Cloniger and Roberto Marchesini revealed that as a result of the execution hiatus, the state appeared to have spared few, if any, condemned prisoners, while the citizens of Texas experienced an added loss of 90 innocent lives to homicide, over and above what would have been expected had no moratorium been in place. Based on this study, if North Carolina experiences a similar surge, North Carolina's de-facto moratorium could result in an additional 50 people being murdered over and above what would have been expected."
This year, the Christian Action League assisted two communities in fighting alcohol referendums Elkin and Farmville, North Carolina.
Elkin, North Carolina lost its fight against Liquor-By-The Drink. Rev. Johnny Blevins, pastor of Elkin Valley Baptist Church said he believed that absentee ballots made the difference in the election.
Some 40 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, with liquor by the drink passing, 591 to 514. The margin in absentee voters was 124, with 169 supporting the referendum and 45 opposed.
A supporter of Progress Elkin, the organization leading the push for mixed drinks, posted an electronic petition of sorts on www.facebook.com, urging visitors to the site to
vote for the referendum and touting the increased access to alcohol that the move would bring.
"This vote could mean a lot to our local businesses. And of course, we'd get more access to alcohol! Woohoo!!" wrote Elizabeth Hendrick, a 2006 Meredith College graduate and now a student at UNC Charlotte. Her site reminded potential voters to make sure they had met the voter registration deadline and to complete absentee ballots if they did not plan to be in town on June 12.
More than 110 facebook members, the vast majority either college students or recent grads, joined Hendrick's site, with many posts urging voters to go to the polls early.
In retrospect, Blevins said his group should probably have set up a presence on the Web to gather more support. Dr. Stephen Walker, co-chair of Citizens for a Drug Free Elkin, agreed, saying the unusually high number of absentee ballots may have been from college students influenced by the facebook page.
The Christian Action League has offered and provided support for citizens in Farmville, who at the writing of this report were fighting a liquor-by-the-drink referendum. The election is scheduled for November 6.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rev. Mark H. Creech, Executive Director
Dr. David Hansley, President
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