United Church of Christ Sues NC Over Same-sex Marriage Ban

Last week, a group of Ministers from around the Charlotte area worked together to start a lawsuit against the State of NC against the ban of gay marriage. They say that the ban goes against their religion, and that the ban prohibits their rights listed in the first amendment: the freedom of religion. These ministers claim that “North Carolina judges some of its citizens as unfit for the blessings of God. We reject that notion”, expressing their feelings toward the ban (Gordon). These people of North Carolina feel that in their baptist beliefs, the communion and sacraments are open to all. “All God’s children [should] be able to receive marriage,” according to Nancy Allison, pastor of Holy Covenant United Church of Christ and one of the many plaintiffs in the lawsuit (Gordon).

This connects with me in my life because I live in North Carolina, and I know some people effected by this ban. This is a controversial topic, and people can be very divided with their choices. This issue can be very hard for some people to talk about because some parts of the state are very stuck in their backwoods ways, some support the idea of same-sex marriage, and some are indifferent. I know people from each group, and I've seen he chaos the topic can provoke.

This relates to what I'm doing in school because in civics we learned about public opinion, and how the opinion of citizens can shape an area. The majority of NC has had a negative view of gay marriage, which is why the ban was put in place. However, things are starting to change. People are taking a stand, and they was equal rights for every sexuality.

Personally, I feel that everyone should stop getting offended by everyone else's choices and let them do what they want. If two men or women want to get married, let them. It's not a big deal to me. It's not me that's marrying a girl, and i'm not gay, so that's okay. But if i was gay, I would want to know that somebody was behind me, backing up my decisions. The best thing we can do is support each other and do what we feel is right, without bashing others and/or being hateful or demeaning. In the end, everything doesn't revolve around a few select people. We are in the United States, and if some have the right to get married, I don't see why others don't.

The author is obviously in support of this movement, because they don't use any negative, degrading, or harsh words towards the parties suing the state of North Carolina. He seems to feel the same way as the women making a stand, because he doesn't even recognize the opposing side in this matter. He states that conservatives against this movement claim that "this lawsuit does not change the fact that God created men and women differently,” and that “The fruits of that difference are marriage and the continuance of the human race through children. (Gordon). These statements may be partially true, but they do not exactly give a reason why same-sex couples can't be married.

I feel that one day, it'll happen; same-sex marriage will be legal.. eventually. Just as slavery was abolished, weed was legalized, and equal rights were given, every big debate ends up with more freedom given. Many things were once seen as taboo, but as time progresses, people will get over it. In a few years time, people will be stuck to some new topic and this will all be over and done with.


Gordon, Michael. "United Church of Christ sues over NC ban on same-sex marriage". Charlotte Observer. CharlotteObserver, 28 April 2014. Web. 28 April 2014.

Boggioni, Tom. "Citing religious freedom, NC clergymen sue state for right to perform same-sex marriages." The Raw Story. The raw Story, 28 April 2014. Web. 28 April 2014.

Badash, David. "Christian Church Sues NC For Violating Its Religious Liberty By Banning Same-Sex Marriage." The New Civil Rights Movement. The New Civil Rights Movement and David Badash, 28 April 2014. Web. 28 April 2014.

Gordon, Michael. "United Church of Christ sues over NC ban on same-sex marriage". Digital image. Charlotte Observer. CharlotteObserver, 28 April 2014. Web. 28 April 2014.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/04/28/4871111/united-church-of-christ-sues-over.html#.U18lYPldUTo#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/04/28/4871111/united-church-of-christ-sues-over.html#.U18lYPldUTo#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/04/28/4871111/united-church-of-christ-sues-over.html#.U18lYPldUTo#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/04/28/4871111/united-church-of-christ-sues-over.html#.U18lYPldUTo#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/04/28/4871111/united-church-of-christ-sues-over.html#.U18lYPldUTo#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/04/28/4871111/united-church-of-christ-sues-over.html#.U18lYPldUTo#storylink=cpy

22 Students Injured in Knife Attack

In the early arrival of April, 22 Franklin Regional High School students had a morning they'll never forget. Within five minutes, a hallway full of sleepy high school students waiting for class to start turned into a gory crime scene. Many people were injured, but luckily no fatalities were found. However, some hurt need additional surgery to correct damages.

That day started like any other, lingering in the halls and gossiping with fellow classmates. Just before school started, sophomore Alex Hribal ran through the hallways "slashing and stabbing 21 students and a security guard with two 8-inch knives" (Silver). The random attack was more hectic than it could have been, due to a student pulling a fire alarm, causing more students to enter the chaotic hallway. A resource officer tried to charge at the offensive student, but couldn't stop him. The man was stabbed multiple times in the stomach. The attack finally ended when Sam King, and assistant principal of Franklin Regional High School, tackled and disarmed the teenager.

This event connects with everyday life, because these events are becoming more and more common. Columbine, Virginia Tech, New Town, and now this. It seems that as time progresses, the mindset of some people becomes more and more off balance, or corrupted. Many people either have a mental disability, or they no longer have the will to live, and are so full or hatred or anger that they are determined to bring down people with them.

This article relates to what we were doing in class due to the fact that we recently made suicide awareness posters to remind our students that they always have a friend, ad/or a way out of their troubles. In the article, the student doing the harmful stabbing stated that he simply didn't want to live anymore, being a suicidal statement. Although he was seen as a quiet kid who was nice and agreeable, there must have been something terribly wrong in his life.

I personally feel that this was a terrible event, and that it was very lucky that no one was killed. This child's reckless actions effected everyone who happened to be in that hallway on that dreadful day. It was even stated that these attacks were not premeditated, they were at random, so he didn't eve have a reason to attack these people. This event definitely effects me because the actions of reckless students around the country cause many (if not all) schools to try to be cautious of something similar. This makes me wonder if we have anyone this uneasy at our school, and if our students' lives are in danger.

The central idea of the article is to tell of the horrific events that occurred that day, at Franklin Regional High School. It is It is developed and refined throughout the passage by giving more and more details and information as the article progresses. In the beginning to the news article, it just gives an overview, only stating that "sophomore Alex Hribal went on a rampage" (Silver). As the article goes on, however, it gets into more depth and detail, such as when the author includes that students didn't realize the resource officer was hurt until they saw him "leaning against the wall and... bleeding from his stomach" (Silver).

Events like this are definitely troubling to the people of the world, and causes a great bit of chaos and havoc to regular peoples' lives. Although this may be true, these altercations also have a uniting effect on people, bring those together than may not have been friends otherwise. The only way we can stop events like this from occurring is to care for others, and make sure no one has a mindset like Alex Hribal. Helping people through difficult and/or traumatic events may just save peoples' lives.

Silver, Jonathan D. "22 injured in knife attack at Franklin Regional High School." Pittsburgh Post- Gazette. PG Publishing Co., 09 April 2014. Web. 12 April 2014.

"Alex Hribal." Robert Phoenix. podPress, n.d. Web. 12 April 2014.

Weber, Katherine. "Pa. Community Focuses on Healing, Prayer After Tragic School Stabbing." Christian Post. ChristianPostInc., 12 April 2014. Web. 12 April 2014.

Washington, Jesse. "Attorney: Stabbing rampage came out of nowhere." The Marrieta Daily Journal. Madiate Media, 10 April 2014. Web. 12 April 2014.