While shenanigans abound in Raleigh under the cover of darkness, let us not forget how things got this way. MaryBe McMillan, with the N.C. AFL-CIO, explains it well:

I thought I'd make my first blog entry of the new year, and my first one as a Blue NC frontpager, a look at the state of our state on two issues that I care passionately about: voting rights & LGBT equality. The first map refers to photo ID voter suppression laws, and the second map refers to marriage discrimination constitutional amendments. For both maps, gray means the bad measure has not passed. And for both maps you can see that NC stands alone in the South as we start 2012.

Pope calls himself a libertarian, but he's definitely at odds with the Libertarian Party on at least one issue, and that's gay marriage. Pope's foundation has given nearly one million dollars to leading anti-gay marriage groups including the NC Family Policy Council, which since 1999 has been one of the leading groups behind the anti-gay marriage amendment, which is now before us, and is going to be voted on in the May primaries.

Chris Kromm

The annual North Carolina Pride Parade happened today as it has now for many, many years. In addition to the celebration of the diverse community that Pride always represents, there was also a special urgency created by the recent passage of a bill to put the marriage discrimination amendment on the ballot this coming May. This was a moment to both enjoy how far we've come, and organize for the challenges ahead.