MAY 8.2004 • Q-NOTES
&
CAROLIN
_ ^ Volume 18 • No. 26 • May 8, 2004
The Carolinas-most comprehensive Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender newspaper . Published every2wee£
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contributing writers
Christopher Bsrron, Colin F. Browne, Lawrence
Ferber, Chris Hampton, Steve Hansen, Elizabeth
Kerwin, Robert Kirby, Charlene Lichtenstein, Ed
Madden, Donald Miller, David Moore, Brian M.
Myer, Leslie Robinson, Nicholas Sakurai, Fred
Shank, Mark Shields, David Stout, Glennda
Testone, Trinity, Steve Warren
on page one
• Gay student's posters removed
• Phelps dan takes on WCU
• SC Pride 2004
07
24
20
23
25
23
19
17
25
06
21
UJ
29
15
34
33
39
43
•
42
03
38
08
11
13
42
31
16
37
01
07
41
articles
Bill passed disallowing gays treatment
Cirque settles with gay gymnast
Gay boomers late starters for saving
Hate Crime bill passed in California
Discriminatory amendment passed
March for Women's Lives held in D.C.
N. Y. group attempting to stop mam'age
Scots instal anti-sex superloos
Sen. Specter congratulated on victory
Students hold National Day of Silence
y.A. refuses to handle transplants
features
DJs on hand for Pure
Entertainment at S.C. Pride
London Pride makes for great holiday
columns
Audiophile
Big Saeen
Classifieds
Community Cards • 37-39
Curbside
Editor's Note
General Gayety
News Notes: Global
News Notes: NC
News Notes: SC
Out and About
Out in the Stars
Para Todos
Q-Health: Ora-Quick
Q-Poll
Q-Poll Results
Tell Trinity
advertising space deadlines
fiC
a
0)
D
U)
issue: 22 May
issue: 05 June
issue: 19 June
deadline: 05-12
deadline: 05-26
deadline: 06-09
Bditor*s note
Aliens invade
Marshall Park
The annual Charlotte Pride festival was
held in the city’s Marshall Park, Saturday,
May I.
The crowd numbered in the thousands.
Most of them were gay. lesbian, bisexual
and transgender and their supportive het
erosexual friends.
Not everyone at Marshall Park, howev
er, fell into any of those categories. Some
were there for ulterior motives.
Remember an old television scries from
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the ’60s called “The Invaders?" I stumbled
across it in late night re-runs back when I
was a kid in the late ’70s.
The story line focused on a race of
beings from a dying planet who had come
to earth in an attempt to colonize it for
their own use. Trouble was, they could
assume human form and it was difficult to
tell them apart from the real humans, save
for the fact they had a weird mutated
fourth finger and a lack of emotion.
Sounds a little scary, huh? Okay, maybe
In a camp kinda' way.
Anyway — take the “Invaders" scenario
and move it to Marshall Park, a place that
would soon be crawling with individuals
pretending to be someone other than they
really were.
We set our tent up early — around
10:30 a.m. — just before the crowds start
ed to file into the park. I had heard there
would be protestors, though I hadn’t seen
any yet. One of the Pride committee mem
bers informed me that there was a Christian
organization with a booth in the vendor
area that was giving out Bibles and words
of wisdom to those that would listen to
their "love the sinner, hate the sin” rhetoric.
/ w'ris outraged for a moment. How did they
get a booth in our festival?
Pride co-director Alex Forrester told me
later, “We couldn’t keep them out. We’re a
non-profit organization, so we legally can’t
exclude anyone if they’re not trying to
harass or hurt anyone.”
I decided to check the situation out for
myself.
A tall woman with big eyes seemed to be
the adult in charge at the indicated tent. To
her left was a chubby, round-faced teen girl.
On the right was an earthy, skateboarder
dude type. The big-eyed woman spoke to
me with a slight tremble in her voice when 1
questioned the reason behind their pres
ence. “Why arc you here?" I asked. “Are you
part of Operation Save America?"
“No, no, we’re not,” she insisted nerv
ously. “We’re just here to hand out litera
ture and to
talk with
people.”
An hour
or so later
the park
began to fill up with a
myriad of different types
from the queer community: average joes,
butch dykes, lipstick lesbians, gay bears,
leather men, twinks, queer punked out
youth, drag queens and a handful of trans
sexuals.
Then I noticed this unusual element —
they seemed somewhat out of place. They
were earthy, teenage boys with long
scruffy hair, almost hippie likq. The girls
were casual, most with long, unstyled hair
and slightly plump. I’m not one to stereo
type — but they simply didn’t fit the queer
youth mold. It was clear that they had
been exposed to some MTV, but the flashier
edges most young queers love so much had
n't rubbed off on this group.
A few minutes later one of the
earthy boys showed up at our booth.
He clutched a bag he was carrying
close to him, as though it was some
kind of shield.
I pointed to the publications on the
table in front of me and gave him the
standard spiel. “This is our most
recent issue, and this is the previous
one. We’re a gay and lesbian news and
entertainment publication for the two
Carolinas. Take a couple if you’d like.”
He shrugged uncomfortably. Then with
an almost imperceptible sneer, he said,
“No. That’s okay. 1 don’t think so."
I looked away for a moment and spot
ted two other earthy-looking types covert
ly watching the young man talking to me.
“Then what can I do for you?"
“Oh nothing. I just wanted to talk.”
"About what?"
“Why arc you gay?” Ire asked softly.
“When do you make that decision?”
I decided to get straight to the point:
“Are you with Operation Save America?"
“Who’s that?” He asked innocently.
“Or are you with the group around the cor
nergiving out anti-gay literature?"
“I just wanted to talk with you about
God’s love,” he stammered.
No. Till not having that conversation with
^
Anri-gay Christian stealth youth confer in
Marshall Park.
you. 'You can leave now. ”
“Leave. Now. ”
I repeated the line as 1 stood up from the
chair and pointed towards his cohorts.
He slumped away to his other stealth
invader operatives as he shrugged his
shoulders.
“He won’t talk to me.” I heard him tell
see UNEXPECTED on 26