Questions for the U.S. Senate candidates @ Friday's Public Radio East forum

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Submitted by Pam Spaulding on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 4:56pm.

Public Radio East and the North Carolina League of Women Voters are hosting a live Democratic US Senatorial Forum on the Campus of Craven Community College in New Bern on March 28. The debate will feature all five candidates in the Democratic primary.

If you would like to propose a question, send it on to forum@publicradioeast.org.

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My questions...do you think any will be selected? :)

Good day,

Please consider these questions on LGBT issues for the forum.

I would specifically like to know the candidates' positions on matters that are under consideration in the U.S. Senate that will affect gay and lesbian taxpaying citizens here in NC. This is not a hypothetical; this is legislation that they would vote on if they were Senator.

* Senator Dole has not supported any pro-LGBT legislation before her. What are the candidates' positions on:
1. Federal hate crimes legislation

2. Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

3. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal (Military Readiness Enhancement Act), which would allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military

4. The Uniting American Families Act, which would enable an American citizen to petition for immigration sponsorship for a same-sex partner, and the INS would treat the relationships between opposite and same-sex couples in the same manner under the immigration code.

5. Civil marriage equality -- should gay and lesbian couples have access to the same rights as straight couples (inheritance rights, hospital visitation rights, equal pension and health care benefits and the over 1,100 other legal protections government affords couples via civil, not religious, marriage)? Would they support repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act?

And lastly, for those candidates who believe that marriage should be left to the states -- do they believe that Loving v. Virginia was an incorrect U.S. Supreme Court ruling, since it invalidated state bans on interracial marriages? And if she agrees with that ruling, can they state the logic of an inconsistent position between being in support of Loving v. Virginia and leaving same-sex marriage to the states?

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Pam Spaulding
Durham, NC

Pam Spaulding's blog
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Go Pam.

Submitted by Linda on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 5:40pm.

I wish I could listen to the debate. I'm sure you'll let us know if any of those questions are selected and if so, how they are answered.

Of course, there's always the live blog option. :)

Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi

You can listen online

Submitted by Lee on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 7:03pm.

You can listen online at www.publicradioeast.org

The forum will be free and open to the public and will air live on the Public Radio East News and Ideas Network FM frequencies of 88.5 in New Bern, 90.3 in Kinston to Raleigh, 88.1 in Greenville and 91.5 in Atlantic Beach. The forum will also be available via a live stream and for download on Public Radio East's website and will be available via podcast the following day.

Thanks Lee

Submitted by Linda on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 10:09pm.

The podcast will be the way to go for me. Good information!

Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi

What is your position on possible legislation

Submitted by James Protzman on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 10:19pm.

that would outlaw the use of armed contractors in war zones?

My question, yes its OLF related....sorry

Submitted by parmea on Tue, 03/25/2008 - 10:08pm.

Northeast North Carolina has been fighting the Navy regarding the placement of an outlying landing field (OLF) in the region for over 8 years. The Navy stated that an OLF was not required to support the selected homebasing alternative that included placing two squadrons of the Navy's newest Super Hornets at Cherry Point. Virginia senators in 1995 convinced a BRAC to redirect all the F-18 Hornets from Cherry Point to Oceana as a "synergistic approach" to maintenance and training our pilots. Now the Navy wants to place an OLF in NE NC over the objections of the local communities.

The region realizes that the Navy has the assets required to perform the mission of training our pilots for carrier operations. With the move of these planes to Oceana, a second OLF was not required and in fact, additional construction at Cherry Point was halted because additional capacity would have been created.

This OLF will create additional capacity that forced Cherry Point to lose all those planes. The Navy wasted 8 years of studies, money and resources to determine that the study they were performing would not provide them with an OLF. The Navy's action retarded the growth of five communities for over 5 years for the Navy to just walk away and start this process over again on two other communities in our State.

Will you support the local communities of North East North Carolina and require the Navy to fix the encroachment problems found around NAS Oceana and NALF Fentress before allowing any community to be subjected to another NEPA study to determine if an OLF is required or justified and will you empower the local communities and local governments to ask the Navy to be removed from this list of finalists especially since Gates nor Camden County were afforded the opportunity in 2007?

Anyone think it will be asked?