CHARLESTON
Ketner files for congressional run
page 14
RALEIGH
ENC profits from Senator’s wife
page 12
CHAPEL HILL
Neal receives key endorsement
page 17
Noted. Notable . Noteworthy. LGBT News & Views
Volume 22 . Number 24 www.q-notes.com April 5.2008
Ride ’em cowboy!
Queen City Stomp spurs up
Proceeds to benefit Gay Center, Time Out Youth
by Collier Rutledge . Contributing Writer
CHARLOTTE — Grab your lasso, pop on your cowboy hat and slip on
those boots. The Queen Qty Stomp is heading into town and hot cowboys
and cowgirls will be stampeding to the Charlotte Eagle for a weekend
chock full of fun Md exciting activities for country-west
ern music and dance lovers of all ages and stripes.
Southern Country Charlotte presents their unique three-day gather
ing April 18-20. With no other event like it in the Carolinas, they expect
to draw a crowd of 1,000 or more. The Stomp will feature dance swaps,
team exhibitions, entertainment and cocktail mbcers.
Popular line dance instructor and choreographer Don Curran and
Atlanta instructors Scott Schrank and Pepper Sharpe will join local
instructor Kenneth Davis in leading dance workshops on Saturday. That
evening, singer/songwriter Josh Zuckerman will perform at the
Charlotte Eagle.
The group is currendy selling their first-ever beginner dance
instruction DVD, for a minimum donation of $10.
“Many folks are buying the DVD and learning dances at home
before they head to our events,” Southern Country Charlotte President
Gary Mathis told Q-Notes. Those who are already bold enough to ven
ture out join the group for their weekly Wednesday night free dance les
sons at their home bar, the Charlotte Eagle.
In addition to all the planned dancing and fun. Queen City Stomp is
also a fundraiser. “Queen City Stomp brings together like-minded people
who enjoy country music and dancing,” Mathis said. “We give people an
opportunity to come out and enjoy themselves while giving back to the
community at the same time.”
In fact, since its inception in 1991, Southern Country Charlotte’s
members and supporters have shown remarkable dedication to the
community, contributing over $100,000 in cash, goods and services to
see stomp on 18
Center finds
new home
Open house scheduled for Apr. 11
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff
CHARLOTTE — The Lesbian & Gay
Community Center of Charlotte is cele
brating its move to a new home, right on
the outskirts of Uptown.
The full move from the Center’s for
mer home on Central Ave. was complet
ed in just one day, said Board of
Directors Chair Denise Palm-Beck.
“The move was fantastic,” she told Q-
A/bfes. “About 20 people helped us and we
got everything moved in only two trips
from the old space to the new.”
, The Center has been open at the
new N.C. Music Factory Complex in
Uptown’s Fourth Ward since late
February. Since then, the board and
volunteers have spent time planning
how they’ll organize the space to make
see new on 22
Technology tests candidates
A blogger gives his perspective
by Andrew Belonsky
Special to Q-Notes
It would be naive for a political candidate
to ignore cyberspace this election cycle. No,
not naive. Disastrous.
As obvious a statement as this may
be, an online presence
helps candidates
reach their con
stituents.
Whether it’s
through official
websites or social
networking sites, \ ^,
our political hopefuls \
work tirelessly to \
establish online out- \
posts. And U.S. Senate
canididate, N.C. state
Sen. Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) is no exception.
Her effort, however, indicates more than just
her 21st century savvy.
Though one would expect a nine-year sen
ator to already realize the power of the inter
net, the Democratic politico only recently
revamped her digital digs, which had been
languishing in an unsightly beta swamp.
In honor of the occasion, Hagan released
this celebratory, painfully self-aware state
ment: “Whether it’s fantasy sports, Facebook,
MySpace, community bulletin boards, our
local newspaper or citizen blogs.
North Carolinians
are coming
together online
to build commu
nities, and politi
cal campaigns
ignore that power
at their own peril.”
Hagan definitely
needed to compete.
Her competitor, the
openly gay Jim Neal,
had already established himself online, found
ing the requisite Facebook and Myspace
pages, snatching up his domain name. The
see candidates on 22
N.C. House expulsion could
have LGBT impact
Thomas Wright first state rep. ousted
in over a century
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff
RALEIGH — For the first time in
almost 130 years, the N.C. House of
Representatives expelled a member
who refused to resign after being
indicted on charges of mishandling or
hiding campaign contributions and
other finances.
Former Rep. Thomas Wright (D-
New Hanover) was ousted Mar. 20 by
a vote of 109-5. His refusal to step
down prompted his colleagues to
remove him for actions unbecoming
a member of the House.
According to Equality North
Carolina Executive Director Ian
Palmquist, Wright was one of the lead
ing champions of HIV/AIDS funding
in the House and a longtime supporter of eli
gibility increases for the state’s AIDS Drug
Assistance Program (ADAP).
In 2006, due in part to work by Wright and
Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford), the maxi
mum annual income
level for those eligible
for drug assistance
was raised from
$12,250 to $19,600.
On the other
hand, Palmquist said,
Wright supported a
proposed state consti
tutional amendment
banning gay marriage
and other legal recog
nition of same-sex
relationships.
For the LGBT
community, the
important question
now is who will
replace Wright.
Thomas Wright's expulsion
from the N.C. House could
make the balance of gay-
friendly legislators better
or worse.
see expulsion on 17
Shirley Q: humor or racism
page 4
Oi^aniceilly yours
page 25
‘Stop-Loss’ highlights war, policy
page 25