Newspapers / Q-notes (Charlotte, N.C.) / Nov. 5, 2005, edition 1 / Page 12
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12 Regional Q-NOTES • NOVEMBER 5 . 2005 0/> tmon Don't judge a book by it's cover by Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodges My partner Wanda and I volunteered our time recently to talk with peo ple at the state fair about the upcoming amend ment to the S.C. constitu tion that would disCTimi- nate against same-sex couples.! had my reservations about volun teering for the South Carolina Equality Coalition booth but within our first 15 min utes we had at least four positive interac tions with people. I would say that 99 percent of our con versations through the night were extreme ly positive. I learned in those four hours not to judge book by its cover — ever. One griz zled man in well-worn blue jeans and a T- shirt almost ran up to the booth, grabbed a few of the free rainbow bracelets we were, giving away and asked, “May I have these?” “Sure,” I said, “but you have to hear my pitch.” He smiled broadly, “1 don’t have to hear your pitch, two of my family members are gay and I’ll vote against anything that hurts them.” 1 wanted to hug him. Then, two African-American sisters poked through the bracelets and chatted with me. One was the mother of a 26-year- old lesbian — the other the adoring aunt. “I don’t want my daughter to face any dis crimination,” the mom told me — the aunt emphatically agreed. One white couple with the appropriate 2.5 children stopped to chat and thought the amendment was a terrible idea — they said they’d certainly vote no. A man with a military haircut stopped by with his three kids and wife in tow and was adamant about voting against the amendment. He was angry over Westboro Baptist Church leader Fred Phelps and his recent protests of the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq. Phelps is the Topeka, Kan., minister known for his protests of gay and lesbian events. This man was all for fair ness — for us and for soldiers. What occurred to me during our night at the fair was the absolute importance for gay and lesbian people in this state to come out — to their bosses, their families, their pastors and their friends. A majority of the positive comments we heard were from people who either had family mem bers or friends who were gay. ACT UP’S old slogan came to mind — “silence equals death” — in South Carolina silence from our community could well mean the death of equality for our rela tionships. What I learned is that South Carolinians, when given a chance to understand our lives will overwhelmingly support our rights. But they’ll only get to know us if we come out and speak up. MeckPAC Voter Guide 2005 Charlotte Mayor, City Council & School Board The Mecklenburg Gay and Lesbian Political Action Committee (MeckPAC) is a nonpartisan political organization. Candi dates are evaluated on their responses to a questionnaire and other criteria, including past performance. MeckPAC’s ratings do not take into account where the candidate may stand on issues other than those directly related to MeckPAC’s concerns. Mayon ' Craig Madans — Endorsed Pat McCrory — Warning Gty Council: At-Large (choose up to 4) Darrell Bonapart — Endorsed Susan Burgess — Receptive David Erdman — Receptive Anthony Foxx — Non-committal John Lassiter — Refused to Respond Pat Mumford — Non-committal John Tabor — Refused to Respond Lynn Wheeler — Refused to Respond District 7 Nicholas Heath — Endorsed Don Lochman — Warning School Board (all races are nonpartisan): District 1 Larry Gavreau — Warning Rhonda Lennon — Refused to Respond District 2 Mukul Datta — Endorsed Donna Dawson — Endorsed Sheila Ann Johnson — Non-committal Vilma Leake — Receptive District 3 Jaye Maxx Alexander — Warning Dwayne Collins — Refused to Respond George Dunlap — Endorsed Lucille Puckett — Recommended District 4 Clarence Puckett — Warning Peter Sidebotton — Endorsed Mark Sims — Recommended Tom Tate — Endorsed District 5 Molly Griffin — Refused to Respond Ellen Loflin — Receptive District 6 Larry Bumgarner — Receptive Liz Downing — Refused to Respond Ken Gjertsen — Refused to Respond Ratiags: Endorsed: MeckPAC strongly encourages you to vote for this candidate. Recommended: This candidate met some but not all of the criteria for an endorsement. Receptive: This candidate’s responses indi cated openness to further contacts. Non-commital: This candidate was unwill ing to respond concretely to MeckPAC’s policy concerns. Warning: Based on their positions on LGBT issues, MeckPAC does not support this candidate. Refused to Respond: This candidate did not resp>ond to MeckPAC’s questionnaire or to Other contaas. ■ SIZE DOES MATTER. If you are looking for a Small or a Big Homef Call Stephen and GET IT DONE! » • Myrtle beach Is HOT! HOT! HOT! 5307-A N. Kings Hwy. Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 Stephen J. 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