LGBT

My friend Wayne Besen at Truth Wins Out, a non-profit founded to combat the junk science and propaganda of the infamous professional "ex-gay" movement, is joining forces with a coalition of North Carolina organizations to produce a counter-symposium to the conference being held by Exodus International in Asheville in July.

While you might find the idea of "praying away the gay" outlandish, the fact is that Exodus and other "ex-gay" organizations prey upon individuals who are coming to terms with their sexual orientation; many are often in conflict because of the anti-gay messages the have received from fundamentalist family and friends.

Today is the Third Annual Blogging for LGBT Families Day, an occasion to celebrate the beauty of non-traditional families. Kate and I are a child-free couple, but we're doting aunts, and completely out of the closet to those we love. It means that nieces and nephews will grow up knowing us without a thought to our orientation, that it's not a dark family secret or a guessing game.

The existence of thriving LGBT families of all shapes and sizes is a grave threat to the Dominionists who see life and love through a very narrow religious worldview, as if morality and good child-rearing is only present in a mother/father parented family. Even though all sorts of configurations of families exist -- grandparents raising children, single parents, etc. -- we have seen an obsessive focus by the right on denying LGBTs the ability to adopt or foster children, and to deny committed same-sex couples to marry, even though these are culturally and socially stabilizing institutions.

(UPDATE: As California celebrates its marriage equality victory, freeper and fundie heads are exploding. If only Tar Heels could celebrate equality here. Makes me think about packing my bags sometimes.)

Here we go again.

Will gubernatorial candidates Pat McCrory and Beverly Perdue weigh in on Sen. Jim Forrester's (R) latest attempt to enshrine discrimination into my state's constitution? Senate Bill 1608 was introduced by the Gaston lawmaker one day into the legislative session. Clearly he has different priorities than most of NC's residents. Equality NC:

Just one day into the 2008 legislative session, Sen. Jim Forrester (R-Gaston) once again filed an anti-LGBT, anti-marriage state constitutional amendment. A similar bill is expected in the state House. Equality North Carolina is working to defeat these attempts to write discrimination into our state constitution.

The proposed bill mirrors those introduced in the last four sessions, which Equality North Carolina and our allies have successfully blocked.

"We can't let our guard down this year," said Ian Palmquist, Executive Director. "The far right would like nothing better than to put this amendment on the ballot and turn out radical conservative voters for the 2008 elections. We can't let Sen. Forrester and his cronies play politics with our lives, our rights, and our families."

The amendment would not only prohibit same-sex marriage-which is already not recognized in the state under current law-but would also ban any other form of relationship recognition for same-sex couples. In fact, the language is so broad it could prevent private companies from offering partner health benefits.

Equality North Carolina is actively lobbying against the amendment and is calling on supporters to contact their legislators.

You can send a message to legislators through Equality North Carolina's web site:
http://eqfed.org/campaign/amendment08

The sponsors of Senate Bill 1608 are below the fold.

It was pretty clear to me that the threadjacking of the Kay Hagan thank you post went completely off the rails on several fronts, spurred by the reposting of my "infamous" questions from her April liveblog by Linda.

It was a case of Bizarro World and deja vu for me, so I decided to put the questions back out there, and examine some of the exchanges and my interpretation of them from the thank you thread, and asked readers outside of the BlueNC think tank to give their feedback.

http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2008/05/12/nc-dems-party-like-its-2004/

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5340

Feel free to come back and comment here.

[Sorry folks, no downticket endorsements yet....]

It's getting down to the final days before North Carolina's primary on May 6, so Matt Hill Comer of the Tar Heel gay news outlet Q-Notes is featuring NC LGBT leaders and their presidential race picks. The format features two endorsements per day, one from a Clinton supporter, one from an Obama supporter.

I was asked to contribute and the result probably isn't a surprise to anyone at this point. It's below the fold.

On Tuesday I discussed Equality NC's announcement that the State Personnel Commission had added protections for workers based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to the 2008 State Personnel Manual.

Not long after that change went up on the state web site, the local anti-gay machinery went into high gear. Homo-obsessed House Minority Leader Rep. Paul Stam (pauls@ncleg.net) and the anti-gay bible beaters at the NC Family Policy Council publicly called for the removal of the fairness language. Because of a matter of the difference between "rules" and "policies" in the state, there's now a tussle over what this change means, as the non-discrimination policy has been adopted by the State Personnel Commission and it has not rescinded it.

In the end, the language adding the protections has been stripped from the web site over the fracas.

ENC Executive Director Ian Palmquist explains below the fold, as well as a look at the pro-LGBT candidate in the wings ready to unseat Stam.

This interview/profile was written for my readers over at Pam's House Blend, so a good portion of the information about Dan Besse is familiar to the BlueNC crowd. Dan gave me a solid two hours of his precious time to discuss a full range issues, and in this piece I discuss LGBT rights issues of concern here in NC. He was frank and forthcoming on a topic that many pols are skittish about -- as we've seen in some of the liveblogs.

NC politicians, take a look at how it can be done, after the jump.

--Pam

On Saturday I will moderate the panel "Still Crossing Those Bridges: Facing Racial and Ethnic Barriers" at the 2008 Unity Conference, held at UNC Chapel Hill (more info here). This panel was originally developed for the EqualityNC conference last year, and it was so popular that the organizers of tomorrow's event wanted us to expose it to a larger audience.

The topics are particularly relevant in new ways, in the wake of Barack Obama's speech on race:

* Coming out on in communities of color on NC/Southern Campuses-- identifying the challenges
* Effect of religious-based bigotry coming from the pulpit
* Finding LGBT cultural common ground between different communities of color (black, brown, white) on campuses -- what are those barriers?
* How do we create a safe space online and offline to discuss race relations?
* Are separate racial/ethnic social spaces essential for LGBT communities of culture on campuses and why?
* If so, how, as a movement, can these groups come together to on initiatives to move LGBT rights forward -- what tools and approaches work, what have been the frustrations?
* How do class and culture factor into the equation?

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.