&
CAROLIN
Charlotte performer
Mekole Wells
has new CD
BeenieMan
apologizes
19
Newdetails
about gay 9-tl hero 09
Missouri outlaws
gay marriage 17
Alabamamoums
death of gay teen 21
North and South
Caroiina
North Carolina:
Lambda Youth Network
seeks new
board members 10
South Carolina:
Columbia Tech school
offers gay and lesbian
literature class 12
ONLINE
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twww.q-notes.com
Will John Ed^fds* ^ f
statement about
Missouri’s vote to ban r
samo-sBX marriage
have an impact on
how you vote?
JBe proud. Be heojd. Vote!
noted . notable . notev/orthy GLBT issues
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VOLUME ±9 . XSSUE 7
SINCE WWW.q-NOTES.COH
AUGUST 14.2004
The MPA and the 14 Carolina reps who voted yes
A look at the anti-gay congressional
representatives that call NX. and S.C.
home
by David Stout
Q-Notes staff
The U.S. House of Representatives passed
the Marriage Protection Act by a 233-194 vote
last month. One of the- most anti-gay bills
ever approved by either body of Congress, HR
3313 would bar the Supreme Court and other
federal courts from hearing challenges to
state bans on same-sex marriage.
“This ‘judicial stripping’ tactic reeks of the
slide toward totalitarianism by the extremist
‘wrong,’” declared Raleigh activist Rick
Myracle in a condemning, post-vote email,
“just goes to prove, every race in every district
at every level this fall is extremely important."
People For the American Way President
Ralph G. Neas observed, “It is astonishing
that self-described conservatives would
embrace a scheme to eliminate any check on
the power of Congress to restrict Americans’
rights and freedoms."
In a letter to House members he added,
“Today it is the right of gay and lesbian
Americans to equality under law that is
threatened, but stripping courts of jurisdic
tion is a tactic that can be turned against any
of our fundamental rights and freedoms.”
QrNofes felt it was important to take a clos
er look at the 14 U.S. House members from the
Carolinas who voted to dismantle our system of
federal checks and balances for the sake of
“protecting” marriage from gays.
The ratings for each legislator as deter
mined by HRC and the ACLU are based on
votes cast during the 107th and 108th con
gressional sessions respectively.
In addition three litmus test votes were
used to gauge each representative’s stand on
gay issues:
• HR 2587, a 1999 measure intended to pro
hibit gay couples in the District of
Columbia from adopting children (failed by
two votes).
• HR 2944, a 2001 amendment to the D.C.
Appropriations bill thabwould have extend
ed a House-imposed ban on using federal or
local funds to provide health care benefits to
the same-sex partners of District employees.
Washington’s city council approved the pol
icy in 1992 but it had never been imple
mented (defeated by a vote of 194-226).
• HR 3966, a March 2004 proposal cutting
The Republican-controlled Congress wants
to prevent gays from having any marriage
rignts by implementing the AAarriage
Protection Act — now it must pass a vote in
the Senate.
defense-related funding to any university
that denies access to military recruiters and
ROTC programs in accordance with their
anti-discrimination policies (approved by a
vote of 343-81).
North Carolina
Eight of N.C.’s 13 representatives voted in
see CAROLINASon 7
Gay Democrats united for Kerry
Kerry denounces marriage
amendment from podium
by Rex Wockner
BOSTON, Mass. — Many of the 255 LGBT
delegates to the Democratic National
Teresa Heinz-Kerry to gay delegates: 'You will have a
mom in the White House.'
Convention held in Boston july 26-29
expressed disappointment over presidential
candidate John Kerry’s opposition to same-
sex marriage and his support for amending
Massachusetts’ constitution on the same
issue. Nevertheless, those same delegates
were clearly united in their conviction that
four more years of George W. Bush will be a
disaster for the LGBT community.
Delegates said that Kerry has
taken the right position on nearly
every other issue of concern to the
LGBT community. He supports
enactment of same-sex civil-union
laws that grant the rights of marriage
and opposes amending the U.S.
Constitution to ban same-sex mar
riage.
“1 want to address these next
words directly to President George W.
Bush,” Kerry said in his nomination
acceptance speech. “In the weeks
ahead, let’s be optimists not just
opponents. Let’s build unity in the
American family not angry division.
Let’s honor this nation’s diversity.
Let’s respect one another. And let’s
never misuse for political purposes
the most precious document in
American history: the Constitution of
the United States.”
That reference to the antigay
Federal Marriage Amendment elicited
the second-loudest outburst of cheering dur
ing Kerry’s 47-minute speech.
Outside of the convention hall, LGBT
Caucus meetings were addressed by a caval
cade of politicians and celebrities who pro
claimed their support for LGBT Americans.
“The gay and lesbian community is no
longer put on the sidelines,” said New
Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. “You are an
essential part of the Democratic Party.”
“There will be a time,” said actor-activist
Rob Reiner, “and it won’t be so long in the
distant future, where gays and lesbians will
have all the rights that every American has.
And we’ll look back at this time as being ...
what was the issue? What were we even
thinking about?”
Actor Ben Affleck seconded that emotion.
“1 really look forward to looking back on
this aspect of our convention [the marriage
debate] with some degree of embarrassment
for how antiquated it was, where we even
have to stand up here and mention that we
have some friend who’s gay,” he said. “Guess
what folks? Everybody has a friend, a broth
er, a family member who’s gay ... You’re
entitled to every goddamned right that every
other American is.
“If you want to defend marriage,” Affleck
said, “find somebody and love that person,
and care for that person, and be faithful to
that person, and commit your life to that per
son, and don’t worry about your neighbor’s
marriage ... As somebody who. to be per-
see DEM on 4