LGBT Issues

See detailed, Greensboro localized information regarding the Soulforce Right to Serve Campaign on MattHillNC.com's Soulforce Youth page.

On Thursday, September 21, 2006, four openly gay youth in Greensboro, NC, will answer the call to duty. They will attempt to enlist in the United States Army as openly gay Americans, a direct challenge to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. If these youth are denied the right to serve, for which they will not lie as a condition of their service, they and their supporters will stage a sit-in within the Army Recruiting Center. Greensboro, NC, is just one of 30 cities across the country taking part in the national Soulforce Right to Serve Campaign. On Wednesday, Phoenix and New York City will also take part in the Campaign.

Below is a press release from this morning, from the NC Advocacy Coalition:

Press Release (PDF Version)
July 13, 2006
Contact:
Matt Hill Comer, Executive Director
North Carolina Advocacy Coalition (NCAC)
336.391.9528, ncadvocacy@gmail.com

Cross-posted from From MattHillNC.com | The Q-triad Blog

Marcus Kindley (pictured right), Chairman of the Guilford County (NC) Republican Party has hit an all-time low.

In a post on his blog, "The Chairman's Corner," Kindley compares being gay to pedophilia. Later in the post, Kindley says that our churches, the media and society have neglected to put a value on right and wrong by stressing the value of "personal decisions" stating that the same could be said for "murder, rape, sposal (sic) abuse, pedophilia, [and] incest."

I had a disturbing day of bar prep today learning all about NC family law. It is amazing the people who we let marry in this state: 14 year olds (with judicial approval and pregnancy) and first cousins being the most egregious cases. There are even rules regarding double first cousins, who are first cousins on both sides--in other words, a brother and sister marry cousins who are also brothers and sisters the children of those nuptials cannot marry. I just wonder who was the test case that made this rule necessary.

And of course, despite allowing 14 year olds (and those who are not mature enough to not get pregnant at 14 at that) and first cousins to marry, the General Assembly caved to the Religious Right a few years ago and passed a Defense of Marriage Act to protect marriage from homosexual couples.

I'm back... The training in New York for the Soulforce Right to Serve Campaign on Don't Ask, Don't Tell was awesome. I can't give all the details right now, but I'll be sure to keep you all updated on this next wonderful movement. (PS - Soulforce is the group which did the Equality Ride). Below is my post for the Fourth of July.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
~ Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

Cross-posted from MattHillNC.com | The Q-triad Blog

I don't know... but it is very possible. Hey... if God supposedly caused Hurricane Katrina because of us "abominable homosexuals" or if God really did create AIDS to cure our "sinful lifestyles," then maybe God did this, too.

Yesterday, during the horrible rains and storms which hit the Piedmont-Triad area of the state, Berean Baptist Church got an electrifying shock when lightening hit the church's steeple.

I finally got back from DC's Capital Pride festival this weekend. It was a blast. Almost (if not more than) 200,000 people participated in the parade and street festival on Saturday and Sunday (respectively). I've never seen so many LGBT people gathered in the same spot in my entire life.

The DC LGBT festival kind of makes our 8,000 (approx.) strong NC Pride look like nothing. I'm kind of sad... I'm wishing North Carolina was as accepting as the DC community (I also wish we had more openly gay folk around here).

Today is EqualityNC's Lobby Day. Starting at 9am and lasting until 3pm, with a rally and news conference at noon, LGBT North Carolinians and our straight allies will be tackling the members of the North Carolina General Assembly.

From the proposed state constitutional amendment to ban marriage for same-sex couples to employment discrimination and hate crimes, LGBT and allied North Carolinians will have their fair day in Raleigh.

I'm really excited about it and I can't wait. I'm supposed to have appointments with my state representative and senator and, hopefully, I'll get to talk to them. My representative, Dale Folwell (R-74) has signed on as a co-sponsor of H2348, the Defense of Marriage Act (or as I like to call it, the "Let's drum bigotry and discrimination to drum up support for November Act").

Great news from a fellow NC blogger, Matt Hill Comer! The text of the press release follows.

I don't know what You have been up to lately, but it's clear You must be distracted. Between the genocide in Darfur and the asshole in the White House, You certainly do have your hands full. In fact, I've heard tell You have the whole world in your hands. But I've been wondering lately if you've been letting a few things slip between your fingers. Each day I discover more hatefulness being done in your name, including things that make me embarrassed that I was once baptized, courtesy of a church in the Southern Baptist Convention. And just in case you're not keeping up with the latest news (you do have access to the Internets, right?) here's a story that will knock your holy socks off.