NC-4 U.S. House candidates differ on marriage issue
By Harlan Brown
April 28, 2010
A survey of U.S. House of Representatives candidates in North Carolina's Fourth Carolina District this week shows that respondants agree on a particular religious liberty issue but differ on the federal marriage amendment issue.
I e-mailed the following questions yesterday morning to each of the four candidates:
- Do you support amending the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as being between one man and one woman?
- If a federal judge, such as David Hamilton, who banned prayers in the name of Jesus in the Indiana legislature, had his ruling overturned by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and is now a judge on that court, were to issue such an opinion again, would you as a member of the House of Representatives be willing to initiate an effort to impeach him?
Frank Roche and William (B.J.) Lawson responded "No" to Question 1. David Burnett responded "Yes." George Hutchins's e-mail system returned an automated response indicating that the e-mail was received, but Hutchins did not respond with an answer to the questions. Roche, Lawson, and Burnett all responded "Yes" to Question 2.
The following table links to each candidate's website and summarizes the candidates' responses plus information obtained from the candidates previously about their stand on the right-to-life issue:
| Candidate | Pro-life personhood tier | Marriage amendment | Religious liberty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Roche | 4 (Personhood Never) | Against | For |
| William (B.J.) Lawson | 4 (Personhood Never) | Against | For |
| George Hutchins | 4 (Personhood Never) | (no response) | (no response) |
| David Burnett | 2 (Personhood Whenever) | For | For |
The personhood classifications are based on the tiers described at American Right to Life's Prolife Profiles website. Tiers 1 through 4 are Personhood Now, Personhood Whenever, Personhood Later, and Personhood Never.
Burnett is the only candidate in the Fourth District Congressional race who believes that all preborn babies are persons with a God-given unalienable right to life. "Because this is a moral issue, it needs to be resolved on the national level just as slavery was," he says.
The other three candidates take the position that Roe vs. Wade should be overturned so that the states can resolve the abortion issue.
Election schedule
The primary election is scheduled for May 4, 2010. Early ("One Stop") voting began on April 15.
In addition to the race for U.S. House of Representatives, the primary election includes U.S. Senate and various other contests such as nonpartisan school board and judicial races that vary from one precinct to another. The Fourth Congressional District includes all of Orange County, all of Durham County, northeastern Chatham County, and most of western and southern Wake County.
For previous news stories on the NC-4 race, see "NC-4 candidates differ on right-to-life issue" and "Candidates differ on abortion exceptions in NC Fourth District U.S. House debate." For editorials related to those news stories, see "God's judgment on America" and "Killing a child for the father's crime?."