r
MARCH 13 . 2004 • Q-NOTES
noted . notable . noteworthy 6LBT issues
Volume 18 • No. 22 • March 13, 2004
The Carolinas'most comprehensive Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender newspaper . Published every 2 weeks
PO Box 221841 • Charlotte, NC 28222
704.531.9988
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Publisher: Jim Yarbrough
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Editor; David Moore
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Associate Editor: David Stout
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Ad Sales . National:
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contributing writers
Michael Alvear, Gregory Godek, J.S. Hall, Lisa
Hardaway, Robert Kirby, Elizabeth Kirwin,
Charlene Lichtenstein, Doug Marcos, Paul
Marcus, Ed Madden, Donald Miller, David
Moore, Brian M. Myer, Aaron Owens, Leslie
Robinson, Michael Shinafelt, David Stout,
Trinity, Steve Warren
on page one
• Charlotte gay center director to resign
• Gay protesters arrested in Asheville
• The man who would be president
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articles
April AIDS walk to benefit HOM
CA gov supports gay marriage?
Congressman takes aim at marriages
GOP appoints most 'activist judges'
House to begin FMA debate
Keeping romance alive
VP Cheney gets testy over daughter
features
Coast to coast gay marriage
'Party Masters' now on DVD
columns
Audiophile
Classifieds
Community Cards • 29-31
Curbside
Editor's Note
General Gayety
News Notes: Global
News Notes: NC
News Notes: SC
Out and About
Out in Print: Idol
Out in the Stars
Para Todos
Q-Health
Q-Poll
Q-Poll Results
Tell Trinity
The Big Screen
advertising space deadlines
issue: 27 March
issue: 10 April
issue: 24 April
deadline: 03-17
deadline: 03-31
deadline: 04-14
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[
ditor*s note
Fear and loathing in
the Carolinas
Same-sex marriage— according to so
many media sources — is taking the U.S.
like "wildfire.”
I suppose when you realize prior to Feb.
12 in San Francisco, no official government
agency had ever handed out marriage cer
tificates in this country, and you look at the
handful of developments in New Mexico,
New York and Oregon, it might look like
pretty scary to your average dyed-in-the-
wool ultra-conservative.
With such an abundance of those types
in both Carolinas, it comes as no surprise
that South Carolina is busy at work trying
to pass a discriminatory anti-gay marriage
bill that would deny any benefits to gay
couples married in other states.
The bill, initiated by Reps. Gloria
Flaskins (R-Creenville) and Marty Coates
(R-Florence) states flatly, “Any marriage
entered into by persons of the same sex in
any other jurisdiction must be considered
and treated in all respects as having no
legal force or effect in this State and must
not be recognized by this State."
“This in no way violates an individual’s
civil rights,” Flaskins told the Beaufort
Gazette. “I’m not intending to tell them
what to do. I’m just reinforcing what our
public policy is.”
When asked whether her opinion of the
proposal would change if the words “of the
same sex” were replaced by “of Latino
descent,” Flaskins reportedly became flus
tered and replied, "That’s comparing
apples to marbles.”
The Gazette columnist — Andy Brack —
offered his summarization of Flaskin’s
rhetoric:
“If the proposal would have said, for
example, any marriages of blacks or
Latinos or Irish or WASPS outside South
Carolina shouldn’t be recognized inside
the state, citizen groups, the NAACP, the
Christian Coalition, the ACLU and the
like would be screaming about the
state’s backwardness. lust because it
targets gays doesn’t make the proposal
nondiscriminatory.”
South Carolina is one of 38 states that
already bans gay marriages. It is one of 17
that, out of fear and ignorance, feels that it is
necessary to consider measures to close any
loopholes
that might
remain in
that ban.
North
Carolina has
already beat its southern
neighbor to the punch
line: according to the N.C. Constitution,
marriage is explicitly defined to be between
a man and a woman and same-sex mar
riages granted outside the state are already
not recognized.
Community leaders in North
Carolina’s only liberal (I happen to like
that word) enclave — Chapel Flill and
Carrboro — have taken significant steps
toward recognizing same-sex couples in
the past. In 1994, Carrboro became the
first Southern town to enact domestic
partnership legislation. Chapel Flill fol
lowed in 1995. Benefits were extended to
the domestic partners of government
employees of each town. Since 1994,
Carrboro has registered 23 domestic part
nerships. In Chapel Flill, where non-resi
dents also can apply, 69 partnerships
have been registered.
Meanwhile, North Carolina’s most siz
able city — Charlotte — and the largest
city between Washington, D.C. and
Atlanta, Ga„ continues to sit by quietly,
seemingly unable to offer something as
minor as benefits for same-sex partners of
city employees.
Mayor Pat McCrory has made it clear
he opposes the very idea of such a thing.
Even though other North Carolina towns
have proved it’s a no-brainer, McCrory
prefers to couch his response to the issue
in fiscal rhetoric, though it is my own per
sonal opinion that his feelings are mired in
ignorance and religious beliefs.
According to an article in the Charlotte
Observer a gay city employee who served
on a nine-member committee that
explored the possibilities of benefits for
same-sex partners of city employees,
Charlotte is taking a very “provincial”
approach to an “amazingly easy” issue.
“I suppose that it’s necessary in
Charlotte because Charlotte’s a really con
servative town,” Tom Warshaucr told the
Observer . “People are really afraid of this
issue in this political climate.”
Sometimes it’s really painful being
queer in this part of the country — espe
cially when you think about all the fear
and loathing directed at you from govern
ment officials — individuals that you think
would be educated and enlightened.
Despite the desire to flee for greener
pastures, 1 think it’s
important that we stay
the course and stand our
ground.
Carolina gays and les
bians will not be trounced
upon. We will not take
this polite intolerance
from conservative offi
cials at state, county and
■ city governments quietly
and simply hang our
heads in sorrow.
We are here. We are
not going away.
Eventually, we will prevail.
— David Moore
Editor