matthillnc's blog

From Q-Notes, the Carolinas' leading source of LGBT news:

Rural gay youth struggle for acceptance
Close friendships provide strength against adversity
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff

When pondering North Carolina’s beautiful western mountains, most people will conjure up images of grand rolling hills, breathtaking views and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Almost no one will think of these vistas as places to encounter a rowdy crowd of openly gay teens. But, in the first decade of the 21st century, there they are.

Brandon, Michael, Kirk, Damien and Brian range in age from 15 to 21. Together, they are not social outcasts, but best friends, free from the daily struggles imposed upon them by their rural surroundings. With the help of one another, along with their families and other friends, they have created a safe space for support, growth and love.

CHARLOTTE, N.C./InterstateQ.com -- The wife of a conservative North Carolina state senator sponsoring an anti-gay, anti-family marriage amendment has penned a hate-filled, factually inaccurate opinion piece for the radical Right-wing Christian Action League website.

The piece, written by Mary Frances Forrester, the wife of Sen. James Forrester (R-Gaston County), was published Feb. 29, but it took me quite a bit of time to sift through information on some of the topics she addressed. I was going to make a rebuttal to Mrs. Forrester's op-ed the focus of my next Q-Notes editorial, but repeated attempts to contact Mrs. Forrester failed. Because I could never get in touch with her to get a list of sources she used in constructing her op-ed, I didn't feel comfortable writing on it for the paper.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C./InterstateQ.com -- On Tuesday, March 11, tens of thousands of North Carolinians will head to their local precinct meetings to elect delegates to county conventions. The meetings are the beginning of the long trek to the state convention, the national convention and for choosing delegates to represent Democrats at both.

For Senate candidate Jim Neal, the meetings also represent a chance to reach out to more than 20,000 highly involved and attuned Democratic Party activists and likely primary voters. He has sent campaign materials for every meeting - bumper stickers and buttons - to distribute to local activists, along with a letter thanking attendees for their civic involvement.Neal’s campaign has also called and talked personally with 1,200 precinct chairs across the state.

UNC-Asheville students are planning to confront Senator Richard Burr when he stops by their campus tomorrow, August 22, 2007.

Students are organizing through Facebook, of course, and telling each other to "Bring Your Tuition Bills" to Burr.

In case you haven't looked too deeply into the issue of Michael Aaron Lay, the McHenry aide charged with voter fraud, perhaps you should know these few tid-bits.

So I am sitting here watching C-SPAN and they have the House Minority Leader's Weekly Briefing showing with Minority Leader, Senator John Boehner (R-OH).

He's complaining about Democrats raising taxes. He says that we can balance the budget without raising taxes. He says that the taxpayers deserve to keep their "hard-earned money." He says that the taxpayers deserve "transparency" in how their money is spent and they deserve to know that their money is being used responsibly.

Cross Post from Matt's InterstateQ.com

Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, the victim of a horrendous anti-gay hate crime in October 1998, spoke Tuesday evening to a group of hundreds of students and community members from across the state at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Her main message of the night: "Tell your stories and just be who you are." Mrs. Shepard proclaimed that a "Catch-22" certainly exists. The only way things will change for the LGBT community is if people start to tell their stories. Many LGBT people, however, are afraid to "come out" with their stories due to the discrimination and prejudice which still exists. She said that despite the fear, we all must be willing to take the giant leap of faith trusting that we are on the right side and the right will win.

She challenged the audience, asking, "What has happened to our world?" She spoke to her upbringing and how she was taught the "Golden Rule." She spoke of the dreams her and people her age had during the 1960s. She pondered as to what happened to those dreams. Why are we ignoring all of these issues today?

Cross-post from Matt's personal blog, MattHillNC.com |The Q-triad Blog

Tonight, the Thomasville City Council approved, five to one, a resolution urging the North Carolina General Assembly to send an anti-gay marriage amendment to the voters. The Council will send their resolution to Thomasville's representatives in the General Assembly, where it should be circulated to the other members and promptly ignored by our Democrat-controlled Senate and House (as the amendment has been ignored for the past three years in a row). The meeting, however, didn't come without a fight from those supportive of equality and those who simply want government out of the business of marriage. There were plenty of positive things too, including some great statements against the resolution from a Thomasville citizen who also noted the great statements from one of Thomasville's City Councilmembers.

Tonight, October 16, 2006, 7pm, on the second floor of the Thomasville Police Building (7 West Guilford Street - map), the Thomasville City Council will meet. On their agenda is a resolution urging the North Carolina General Assembly to send an amendment banning same-sex marriage to the voters (See our October 14th Press Release: Gay and lesbian PAC urges Thomasville City Council to vote "No").

Please join us at tonight's meeting of the Thomasville City Council meeting! Speak with us during the Council's Public Forum section of the agenda and tell the City Council why this resolution is both un-necessary and harmful for North Carolina.

Is there a witch hunt for anti-gay Republicans who are really gay themselves? Uhm... maybe.

Looks as though Mr. Patrick McHenry of the 10th District might be gettin' himself wrapped up in all the ferver:

McHenry’s closet-case, anti-gay, anti-himself, anti-people-just-like-him days in Congress are soon to be over!

Come out, Come out where ever you are! Gay Republicans… the closet door is swinging wide open just for you!