north & south Carolina Popcorn’Q Top 10 movies pg.29 noted . notable . noteworthy 3LBT issues Canddate Alex Sanders getsHRC Endorsement for US Senate pg. 25 VOLUME 17 SINCE 178« WWVW.q-NOTES.COM JUNE 22.2002 Soulforce gets to the heartless of the matter Undo Ellerbee's "My Family is Different" — new Nick News series with controversial segment — . ^ teaches tolerance J Elephants loose In the Senate tromping Hate Crimes Bill HIV terrorism in North Carolina ..Op Ed Doctors suggesting Pap smears for gay men J zJ actioniaiert • GLSEN: Superintendents must I protect students * • ACLU: Ashcroft allows FBI snooping again II • SLOW: The military’s sodomy statute must go df I South Carolina Section 25 Q-POLL www.q-notes.com What sports do you participate in the summer? . Golf . Tennis . Softball . Soccer . Rugby . bicycling . Swimming / Diving A personal eyewitness account as souls force their way into the Southern Baptist Convention to protest intolerant teachings by Laura Montgomery Rutt Media Coordinator, Soulforce As media coordinator and spokesperson for the national organization Soulforce. I knew 1 had my work cut out for me: we were planning a civil disobedience at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in St. Louis to protest their anti-gay policies. Soulforce, an interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against GLBT people, was founded when co-founder Rev. Mel White organized a meeting of 200 gay-rights activists with 200 followers of Jerry Falwell in October of 1999. The next month, Soulforce sup*porters converged on a small town in Nebraska for the United Methodist Church’s trial of Rev. jimmy Creech. I had been Rev. Creech’s spokesperson and media coordinator when Soulforce decided to protest the United Methodist Church for ^ 1 the anti- policies that brought a compassionate and dedicated minister to trial for performing a holy union for 2 men. Rev. Creech was found guilty of violating the Discipline of the United Methodist Church and stripped of his ordination. Rev. «.arE’. ' «,1L Soulforce founder Mel White and 200 members protest anti-LGBT teachings at Southern Baptist Conv. in St. Louis see SOULFORCE on 6 Marriage defined by Congressional fundaMENTALists L Graham R-SC Joe Wilson R-SC SueMyrkkR-NC W. Jones R-NC Ed Note: The following is complete background information on me anthgay AAarriage Ammendment which is new before US House. The marriage ammendment proposed and supported by the fundamentalist right is just plain wrong Background HJ 93 The House introduction of HI 93, a proposed marriage amendment to the US Constitution, was announced at a press conference May 15, by lead cosponsor Rep. Ronnie Shows, D-MS, and a group of religious and political activists known as the Alliance for Marriage. There are now I! cosponsors: Sue Myrick, R-NC, Walter Jones, R-NC, Lindsey Graham, R-SC, Joe Wilson, R-SC, Chris Cannon, R-UT, Jo Ann Davis, R-VA, Virgil Goode, 1-VA, Ralph Hall, D-TX, David Phelps, D-IL, Joseph Pitts, R-PA, David Vitter, LA. The amendment reads: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this iClonstitution ln]or the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups." HRC unequivocally supports full marriage rights for GLBT Americans. While we do not think this proposed amendment has enough political muscle behind it to be a real threat, it is important for our community to be aware of the widespread movement across the country against same-sex marriage. MARRIAGE on H Greensboro GLSEN awards graduating senior $1,000 GLSEN scholarship goes to Western Guilford High student GREENSBORO, NC — A graduating senior at Western Guilford High School was the recipient of Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Greensboro’s annual $1000 scholarship. The scholarship is awarded annually to an openly gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender graduating high school student. Funds for the scholarship are donated by individuals and by a grant from the Guilford Green Foundation. Curtis Main has been an active participant in GLASS, the Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Support System in Greensboro. He said, “going to GLASS helped me accept my sexuality and aided in my decision to come out to all of my close high school friends.” In 2001 Curtis attended Governor’s School East, where, for the first time, he was totally out to everyone about his sexual orientation. He says that living as an openly gay person for the first time allowed him to put into perspective that his sexuality was just a small part of what made up his total personality. Returning to Western Guilford High School he addressed the issue of discriminatory behavior among some students and administrators and urged the school to find solutions to end this behavior. Curtis says that, “almost everyday at Western I experienced (whether towards me or others) an array of malicious comments,” These were frequently in reference to a person’s sexual orientation. The school administration responded positively in an attempt to improve the situation. GLSEN Greensboro Co-Chair, Gary Palmer said, “Curtis is a very deserving recipient of this year’s scholarship. He has shown tremendous courage in confronting the frequent harassment and prejudice faced by openly gay students.” GLSEN Greensboro is one of approximately 90 chapters nationwide that strive to ensure each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. J. Curtis Main

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