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Published Every Two Weeks On Recycled Paper • Volume 13, Number 16 • December 12, 1998 • FREE
Phelps targets
the Carolinas
by Dan Van Mourik
Q-Notes Staff
GREENVILLE, SC—Anti-^ay activist Rev.
Fred Phelps, Sr., 69, and about a dozen sup
porters protested outside Bob Jones University
(BJU) on Friday, November 27, saying it was
too lenient with gays because it allows them
into its art museum. BJU recently sent letters
to gay alumni warning it will charge them with
trespassing if they set foot on campus. They
later decided to allow gays to visit the museum
to retain the gallery’s tax-exempt status.
Apparently, banning gays from campus
wasn’t good enough for Phelps, a BJU alum
Judge Warren takes the stand
nus.
Phelps’ group was met by a small group of
counterprotesters. Both groups were peaceful,
but three police cars stood by.
On Saturday, the group headed to Charlotte
to protest the NC State-Carolina football game
at Ericsson Stadium because of what they de
scribe as the universities’ tolerance and promo
tion of homosexuality. “The two universities
have embraced the homosexual agenda,” Phelps
said.
A leaflet handed out by protesters said the
schools’ newspapers criticized Westboro Bap
tist (Phelps’ church) for picketing at the funeral
of Matthew Shepard. The leaflet ^so cri ticized
j:he schools’ recognition of gay and lesbian or-
^nizations.
Concerning the demonstration at the
Shepard funeral, Jonathan Phelps, a civil rights
attorney, said, “We made sure it wasn’t a one-
A young member of the Phelps clan
sided news event. There was nothing holy or
righteous about that kid.”
“I blame the preachers,” said the senior
Phelps, who wore a white cowboy hat and sun
glasses. “They’re preaching it’s OK to be gay.
It will doom this nation.”
Thirteen protesters toted signs, including
“AIDS Cures Fags” and “Thank God for
AIDS,” as they marched along the sidewalk
across from the stadium.
“We’re just preaching what the Bible says
about this,” said Margie Phelps. “We’re just
telling the people about it. It’s not OK to be
gw”
Fred Phelps said they will be on an upcom
ing episode of the TV show Jerry Springer.
Later Saturday, the activists headed to Wake
Forest Universit]( to protest a Maya Angelou
speech. They say Angelou supports gays.
Phelps is minister at Westboro Baptist
Church in Topeka, KS and Kansas Gov. Bill
Graves has called Phelps “a source of embar
rassment to our state.” V
AIDS Quilt coming to Charlotte
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
For gays and lesbians, life at the brink of the
millennium is changing faster than ever before:
gay characters populate must-see-rv, Matthew
^ Shepard’s death has made homophobic violence
J a dinner-table topic and an out lesbian
^ (Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin) has been elected
^ to Congress.
O Because many of us have lived openly
■2 throughout these events, and the prodigious
£ changes they have heralded, we forget that the
closet is still a reality for some folks. The fact is
that someone somewhere is always taking those
first tentative steps toward self-liberation, striv
ing to live more fully and with greater honesty.
Judge Raymond (Ray) Warren, 4l, has pre
sided in Superior Court for four years. A mod
erate Republican with a reputation for respect
ing individual rights, he narrowly lost a No
vember race for the NC Court of Appeals.
He first contacted Q-Notes in connection
with his campaign,
expressing his desire
for GLBT voter sup
port. It was on a sub
sequent visit that he
confided his wish to
be interviewed. We, of
course, welcomed the
opportunity.
Q-Notes; What is
the primary reason
that you wanted to do
this interview?
Ray Warren: Actu
ally, there are three
primary reasons. The
first is personal, the
second involves my
family and the third is
a matter or con-
SiSiitiig
by Brian M. Myer
Q-Notes Staff
CHARLOTTE—The Names Project’s
AIDS Memorial Quilt commemorates the lives
of people throughout the country and world
who have died of AIDS. The Quilt was the idea
of Cleve Jones, a San Francisco gay rights ac
tivist and organizer of the Kaposi’s Sarcoma
Research and Education Foundation. After the
loss of his friend Marvin Feldman, Jones made
a tapestry in his memory. The idea caught on
and soon Jones was joined by others who had
lost loved ones to AIDS.
Many cultures around the world have tradi
tions of fabric arts. The AIDS Memorial Quilt
is based upon the Ameri-
can tradition of quilting.
In the past, neighbors and
relatives would gather in
groups to sew old scraps
of fabric together to make
blankets. These blankets,
called “quilts,” were often
beautiful works of art in
addition to providing warmth and comfort.
Working together made people feel like a
community, giving them the chance to tell sto
ries, trade gossip, sing songs and enjoy each
other’s company as they sewed. Today, as people
gather together to make panels for the AIDS
Memorial Quilt, this tradition gives comfort
in a time of grief.
The Quilt was first displayed in October
1987 during the March on Washington for
Lesbian and Gay Rights and consisted of 1920
panels. When it was again displayed in Wash
ington in 1992, it had grown to more than
20,000 panels. The memorial covered the
equivalent of 12 football fields and weighed 30
tons. It now has surpassed 25,000 panels.
The Quilt will be
exhibited on Feb.
26 and 2Z 1999.
friends, is designed to reflect the personality and
life of the person (or, in some instances, group)
being memorialized. As with Jones’ original tap
estry, each panel measures three-feet by six-feet,
the size of a human grave. The Quilt represents
more than the tens of thousands of people
whose names are sewn into the fabric; it also
conveys the sorrow, anger, love and hope of the
people who have created the panels.
UNC-Charlotte has announced tentative
plans to display portions of the Names Project
AIDS Memorial Quilt, with final approval ex
pected soon. The Quilt is scheduled to be ex
hibited in the school’s Belk Gym on Friday, Feb
ruary 26 and Saturday, February 27, 1999.
Community volunteers
are being sought to assist
with planning,
fundraising and staffing
during the display. Inter
ested folks can call Shane
Windmeyer of UNCC’s
Office of Student Activi
ties at (704) 547-2521 or
e-mail slwindme@email.uncc.edu for more in
formation about volunteer opportunities.
Members of the general public may request
that the panel of a specific individual (whether
a celebrity or a loved one) be included in the
display. Requests should include the name, ad
dress and phone number of the person making
the request; the name or names on the requested
panel; and the Quilt block number on which
the panel is located (this number can be found
by performing a search at www.aidsquilt.org).
Individuals may also bring panels to the dis
play for permanent inclusion in the Quilt.
A number of fundraising activities are
planned to underwrite the costs of bringing the
Quilt to UNC-Charlotte. These events will be
I would have pre
ferred to work
through this process as
most of my gay friends have done. Most have
been free to come out to those with whom they
felt comfortable while remaining rather innocu
ous in the larger world. They certainly did not
feel the need to make a public announcement.
Unfortunately, the reality of being a public
official is very different. I really don’t think I
can be partially “out.” At some point between
nowand the time my current term ends in four
years, some politician or interest group is likely
to make an issue of my life. Basically, I have
two choices: I can hide in a deep closet and
confide in nobody in the straight world or I
can openly acknowledge the situation and move
on. To try and be honest with my friends and
Judge Ray Warren
co-workers without expecting that news to
spread is not realistic. The nature of politics
and political gossip make it impossible to limit
the knowledge in a way that most other gay
professionals take for granted. For me, this is
the only realistic way to get on with my life.
[My wife] Leigh and I also feel that any pub
lic outing is a time bomb hanging over our
heads. We feel it would be better for us, and
for our children [an eight-year-old daughter and
a six-year-old son), to pull this trigger ourselves
when we are prepared for the publicity and are
prepared to answer our children’s questions. We
don’t want to live with the prospect of some
sort of political or journalistic ambush that
might occur at a time when we are not ready to
deal with the situation.
Finally, I’ve thought a lot about the concept
of collaboration. \^en the Nazis occupied
Europe, they depended as much, if not more,
on willing collaborators as on committed fas
cists. As I have come out to and met gay people,
I am struck by the
number who still live
in deep fear. The
closet is like that. It
isolates us and makes
us feel lonely and vul
nerable. I won’t live
like that. But more
importantly, I hope
that seeing me as a gay
man in public office
will help others see
that they don’t have to
live like that either.
QN: You recently
came up short in a bid
for the NC Court of
Appeals — why come
out now rather than
during the campaign?
RW: For one
thing, my personal
realization and accep
tance process just hap
pened to coincide with the election campaign.
I wasn’t ready, my wife wasn’t ready and our
children were not ready. We have been work
ing through this whole process during the last
four or five months. During the campaign, I
did “out” myself to a number of people, but it
wasn’t planned. I just began to discuss the issue
as I personally became comfortable with my
own identity and place in the world. This is
not a contrived or politicized thing. Yes, I am a
public official, but first and foremost I am a
human being very much in the process of self-
realization. I first discussed this with my wife
in July and we separated in September. Those
See JUDGE on page 11
MCC Charlotte to buy building
Each panel, created by lovers, family and reported as details are announced. T
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
CHARLOTTE—Leaders of the Metropoli
tan Community Church of Charlotte (MCC
Charlotte) have unveiled plans for the 18-year-
old church to purchase its own worship space.
The church’s Building Finance Committee
recently signed a contract to buy Eastway Chris
tian Church, a 10,000 sq.ft, facility at 1825
Eastway Dr., for $775,000. Eastway Christian
has been home to a Disciples of Christ congre
gation since the early ’60s.
Fundraising plans for this massive under
taking are lofty. A Capital Campaign is under
way to raise $300,000 by January 17; a Bond
Program will follow with a goal of $500,000.
A member of the Committee told Q-Notes that
the church would have “no problem” meeting
the goal of the Bond offering.
Numerous secondary events, including a
benefit dance, a raffle and a unique plan to so
licit one-time donations from nearly 225 US-
based congregations within the Universal Fel
lowship of Metropolitan Community Churches
(UFMCC), are being organized as well.
In an open letter to the community (found
on page 2 of this issue), MCC Charlotte pastor
Rev. Mick Hinson states, “It is our hope that as
we strive to develop MCC Charlotte as a “Cen
ter for Community” that [everyone]...will ac
tively and financially support making this vi
sion a reality.”
To assist in this effort or for more informa
tion, contact the church at (704) 563-5810. T