Controversial
second Safe
Sex Card too
explicit.
See page 3 for
more details as
we continue
our Out of the
Past coverage.
2001 Winner ill of We
22n0 Annual Miss Continentai
pageant with2000 winner.
Betaiis in Deiia's coiunmp 20.
Whafs Inside...
Comic strip forthe
better p4
Gannet:
domesflc partner
beneiitsOK p6
Build reserves,
reap rewards plO
OutCharlotte
presents FTM plO
“No-dress” code
for transexual pit
Nightline: “A Matter
ofCboiceP p23
See these ant mere news,
eilttonalsaniHeatures
when lieu step iasUe!
See the hiUexeupage 6.
Takenelat^
Q-PoU:
Who is your candidate to
replace Jesse HelmsP
Dan Blue
fNC State Representative)
Elizabeth Dole
INC Born. Bob's wife)
Elaine Marshall
(NC Secretary of State)
Richard Vinroot
(former Charlotte Mayor)
Ray Warren
(gay, superior court Judge)
Your write-in
To participate in our Q-Poll,
access www.q-notes.com
See our latest poll results on
page 23.
Bouncing from Bill to Bunky
by Leah Sepsenwol
Bunky Miller was back from the Big
BrotherZ compound for only a brief hiatus. He
re-landed in LA on September 17 for the “big
vote” on September 20.
Bunky FAQ answers
Yes, of course, he will vote for Monica. No,
he holds no grudge against Hardy and plans
to give him ah “I-told-you-so hug.” Yes, he con
tinues to body buff: up 5 lbs. of muscle, down
17 lbs, waisting away from 36" to 33" and
crunching to 31". Yes, he really does cry easily.
No, he has not seen a minute of the BB2 epi
sodes — totaling 27 hours.
Big Brother 2 House
“It is strange living completely isolated and
living so closely with strangers.
“The most bizarre thing, though, (besides
Nicole, 1 presumed) was not having clocks,
watches or any electronics. No news. No sense
of the world at all.”
Being home again
“It is great to be home with Gregg, and
back to the real world and some sanity.”
During our phone interview, Bunky reveled,
raved, regaled, but bore no ill will. Only good
words for the housemates, the opportunity and
his undying gratitude to everyone: “Thank you
America for voting to let a gay guy get a letter
from home.”
About his homophobe Harrisburg, NC
mayor, “(sigh) We’ll just pray for him!”
Bunky says he has been “overwhelmed” by
the wonderful straight-community responses
from Harrisburg citizens and across the US.
Big Brother goal
“When CBS chose me as a housemate, my
first goal was to open the eyes of people who
aren’t willing to see us gays and lesbians as in
dividuals, as regular people.”
See BUNKY on Page 11
Ray^Jf^ren explores possibility of US Senate bid
by Leab Sepsenwol
CHARLOTTE, NC — Ray Warren, a supe
rior court judge in Charlotte, NC, and an openly
gay Democrat, is considering a US Senate bid to
fill the seat US Senate
seat being vacated by
Sen. Jesse Helms.
Warren will be ex
ploring the feasibility
of such a run with lo
cal supporters, com
munity activists and
Democratic party
leaders. He will an
nounce his decision
in October.
Because- Warren
and his partner pur
chased a home outside his judicial district, he
will also resign from the bench in October.
Warren’s political rareer began, ironically,
as a Republican. And even more ironically, as
paid summer staffer for Senator Jesse Helms
— while in law school student at University of
Judge Ray
Warren
North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
In 1984 Warren was elected to the state
House as a Republican and served one term as
minority leader. He was elected a judge in 1994
and in 1996 lost his bid to become the chief
justice for the state Supreme Court.
He came out publicly in 1998, becoming
the first openly gay judge in state history. Log
Cabin Republicans, the nation’s largest gay
Republican organization praised Superior
Court Judge Ray Warren for courageously
coming out.
“He was under pressure to lie, and he would
not lie. This shows he is a man of integrity and
eminently qualified to hold public office.”
Local republicans were not nearly so im
pressed. Lee Currie, executive director of the
North Carolina Republican Party, obviously
does not hold with the Constitution banning
religious pre-requisites for office: “Ray Warren
stood before the Republican Party Executive
Committee and professed to be a born-again
Christian,” Currie said. “We trusted him. He
has betrayed that trust.”
The judge then referred to his electoral fu
ture in the Republican party as “cloudy,” given
the conservative entities who framed local
politics. And indeed, a year later Warren
switched political parties when GOP lawmak
ers helped defeat a bill that would have in
cluded sexual orientation in the state’s hate
crimes law.
And he’s preparing for a change and a new
political challenge.
According to an online interview, Warren
had already decided to explore the feasibility
of a Senate bid even before Helms made his
announcement.
“After seven and a half years as a judge I am
ready to move onto a more proactive job.”
So, Ray Warren is weighing options and
opportunity carefully. He can not declare his
candidacy while on the bench. He will leave
the court on September 30. “I am going to
fulfill my responsibilites to the judicial system,”
he said.
Which ever way Ray Warren decides, he has
the truth and integrity to make it happen. T
Prid^
Atlanta Freedom Marching
Band at NC PrideFest
Xe Atlanta Freedom Marching Band, an all volunteer commu
nity organization of nearly 40 lesbians and gays from the Greater At
lanta area, will be featured at the North Carolina Pridefest on Saturday,
September 29.
North Carolina’s Sixteenth Annual Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and
Transgendered Parade and Festival will be led by the North Carolina
Pride Marching Band and held on Main Street in Durham on Duke
East Campus. Both the NC Pride Band and AFMB are members of the
Lesbian and Gay Bands of America, the national musical organization
comprised of concert and marching bands from cities in the US, Canada,
and Australia. LGBA provides a national network of lesbian and gay
bands at all stages of development, promotes music as a medium of
communication among people, improves the quality of artistic and or
ganizational aspects of member bands, and stimulates public interest in
the unique art form of community bands in our culture. The Atlanta
Freedom Marching Band is Atlanta’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender
marching band. In its eight-year history, it has grown to become one of
the nation’s largest and most active marching bands of its type.
Performances in the Atlanta area include the Inman Park Festival,
the Atlanta Pride celebration, the AIDS Walk, Sunday in the Park with
See BAND on Page 10