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Q-Living Coven
Indigo Girls on
politics and music
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Vie Buzz:
Tammy Faye
battles cancer 30
Christian conservah'ves
rally against
Rose Bowl Parade 20
Gay weddings continue 15
North Carolina:
Guilford Green
Foundation announces
contribution totals 08
South Carolina:
Charleston’s Charlie Smith
says he’ll run for House 09
ONLINE
Q.POLL
. www.q«noto$.com
ou think ^
a six-year-old
should have access to
boeks tike
‘King & KIngr :■
Share your spirit, ^hare your Pridel
P taTo os
El alcalde de Seattle dice que el
reconocera la union gay
14
noted . notable . noteworthy GLBT issues
Jury selection begins in
Gwen Araujo trial
VOLUME 18 . ISSUE 23
SINCE 1988
WWW.Q-NOTES.COM
MARCH 27.2004-
Charlotte gears up for Pride celebration
Organizers expecting over 10,000
by David Moore
Q-Notes staff
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte’s LGBT community is gearing
up for one of the earliest Gay Pride celebrations in the country.
Slated for the weekend of Apr. 30 - May 2, “Progress Thru Pride”
— the annual festival’s theme for this year — will boast nation
ally known performers, political speakers, workshops and a
handful of related events scheduled for area clubs and the
Carowinds Theme park.
“We like to get a jump on the Pride season,” says Pride
Marketing Director Richard Rinehardt. “It’s sort of like a ‘wel
come to summer’ party and it gives people a chance to expe
rience our Pride — without interfering with other events in the
region.”
Other pride celebrations in the area of note include South
Carolina’s Pride, which follows on the heels of Charlotte Pride,
in Columbia, S.C., on May 15. Washington D.C.’s Capital Pride
is a week-long affair that takes place June 6-13. Atlanta Pride
is slated for June 25-27.
North Carolina’s statewide Pride — usually held in the
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area — is the fall party set for Sept. 18-19.
Charlotte's 'Progress Thru Pride' offers
Pride events in the region.
an exciting kick-off to a summer full of
see PROGRESS on 13
Anti-gay marriage bill
passes Ic. House
Bill joins nationwide movement of anti-gay legislation
by Ed Madden, Nekki Shutt,
Daniel Miller
COLUMBIA, S.C. — On Mar. 17, the South Carolina House of
Representatives voted overwhelmingly to discriminate against gays
and lesbians and their families when they passed House Bill 4657 by
a vote of 103-7.
The bill prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriages, civil
unions or domestic partnerships made in other states and also pro
hibits same-sex partners
from receiving family
benefits for public
employees in the state.
Only seven legislators
voted against the mar
riage and family benefits
legislation. Floyd Breeland
of Charleston County,
Gilda Cobb-Hunter of
Orangeburg County,
Kenneth Kennedy of
The anti-gay marriage and benefits bill Williamsburg County,
now goes from the House to the Senate Walter P. Lloyd of Beaufort
Judiciary Committee.
David J. Mack III of Charleston County, j. Todd Rutherford of Richland
County and James E. Smith, Jr.
The bill was introduced by South Carolina Republican Gloria
Haskins. South Carolina Equality Coalition President Nekki Shutt
spoke with Haskins shortly after the bill passed.
“She [told] me that this was not personal, that it was public policy
and that she was protecting the taxpayers’ money,” Shutt explained. “I
told her that I was a taxpayer and that so was my partner of 19 years.”
Ironically, Haskins told Shutt that “she had lots of gay friends and
see LEGISLATIONon 6
Gay fairy tale freaks
out hetero couple
Wilmington couple outraged by daughter's choice
of bedtime stories
. A Wilmington, N.C. couple captured national media attention Mar.
17 when they went public with their anti-gay sentiments over a chil
dren’s book with a gay storyline. “King & King,” written by Linda De
Haan and Stern Nijiand, was checked out by their daughter from the
Freeman Elementary School library.
The book tells the
story of a prince whose
true love turns out to be
another prince. Available
through Internet compa
ny amazon.com, part of
the book’s description
on the website reads as
follows: there lived a
lovelorn prince whose
mother decreed that he must
marry by the end of the
summer. So began the
search to find the prince’s
perfect match and lo and
behold...his name was Lee.
“Enter the jubilant
world of ‘King & King,’ a
merry and modern tale
of living happily every after, sure to woo readers of any age,” the
inside cover reads.
The Library of Congress small type on the copyright page describes
the book’s contents as follows: “When the queen insists that the prince
get married and take over as king, the search for a suitable mate does
not turn out as expected.” A review from Publishers Weekly, excerpted
'on Amazon.com, pans the book for its poor art but calls it appropriate
for ages six and up.
see GAY on 4
All because of a little book: some parents
in Wilmington find 'King & King' unac
ceptable for children.