State Legislators Back In Town

Special Report - May 13, 2008
State lawmakers converge on Raleigh today to begin the North Carolina General Assembly’s 2008 Legislative Session. The primary focus of the so-called “short” session will be balancing the state’s $20 billion-plus budget for the state’s 2008-09 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Because this year's session is technically a continuation of the 2007 Session, certain bills considered during the 2007 session are also eligible for consideration this year. Some bills to watch include:

• Legislation that would allow North Carolinians to vote on a state marriage amendment defining marriage as “the union of one man and one woman at one time.”

• The pro-homosexual “Bullying Bill” that could force every local public school system in the state to amend its anti-bullying and harassment policy to include special protection on the basis of a student’s or school employee’s “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression.”

• A bill that would use North Carolina taxpayer dollars to fund embryonic stem cell research, which destroys human embryos as part of its research method.

• An “Unborn Victims of Violence Act” that would establish separate criminal penalties for the murder of unborn children who are killed during the commission of violent crimes committed against the pregnant mother.

The North Carolina Family Policy Council will be working on these and other important matters throughout the session.

Copyright © 2008. North Carolina Family Policy Council. All rights reserved.