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voyager12

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It's obvious that McCroy has a lot bigger asparations than Mayor of CLT and he has hitched his wagon to the right-winger, neo-con, evangelical GOP wagon so he can't do anything that would be used against him in future elections. Supporting anything for Gays and Lesbians is the kiss of death in the GOP. Remember he was a mouthpiece for the GOP in 2004 which ran on the platform of discrimination against Gays and Lesbians.

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I may have misheard but is it true that years ago before the event was held here regularly McCrory did send out a letter of welcome to the HRC regarding the dinner and caught holy hell from the local right wing for it?

It was Charlotte Pride held in Marshall Park about 4 or 5 years ago where he had a full page in the program welcoming everyone to Charlotte. It was a generic letter on City of Charlotte letterhead. I remember being surprised to see it in there. But ever since then there has not been any letters from McCrory. Instead we get letters from Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess in the Program.

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I am going to be in Charlotte from Sunday to Friday. Just want to know where would be a good gay hang out...

which club to go too on sunday nite? or even weekdays...

any good gay joint to shop or eat?

If you are really into a diverse mix of folks I would go to Scorpio on Sunday. Liasons is another option during the week although I find it annoyingly snobbish and cliqueish. Petra's is a fun and laid back piano bar. We don't have any predominantly gay stores but the local shops in Dilworth, PlazaMidwood and NoDa are gay owned or gay friendly. 300 East is popular along with Pewter Rose, Dish, Penguin, Creation. I think I am out of ideas but I don't go out that much... :lol: Someone else chime in too.

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I am going to be in Charlotte from Sunday to Friday. Just want to know where would be a good gay hang out...

which club to go too on sunday nite? or even weekdays...

any good gay joint to shop or eat?

It depends on what type of bar your looking for. Charlotte has something for everyone. If your looking for typical dance club on saturday I hear Velocity is the place to go. Its been years since Ive been but I think they remodeled recently and added a cabaret bar area. I think much of the club is non-smoking as well. Sunday nights and wednesday nights go to Scorpio and the drag show there. The crowd is unpredictable and confusing in my opinion, but I always have a fun time. Friday nights can be fun at the Woodshed off of I-85 near the airport. If you dont mind a very smoky bar with a juke box instead of a DJ. It too has an interesting crowd, but if your not in to stand and model crowds "the shed" is a good choice. Tuesdays are Karoke. There is a Charlotte Eagle off of I-77 and woodlawn and right next to that there is a gay sports bar. Ive been to Liasions twice. Petras in Plaza-Midwood is a piano bar. I had a great time there. Wasnt the piano bar I came to love in Philly, but it did seem a bit un-Charlotte. I think the concept has caught on well here. Chasers is on The Plaza. If you like male strippers go there. Thursdays are hopping.(Though when Ive been over the years most of them seemed to be straight. The crowd is mostly gay with the occasional girlfriend of a stripper thrown in there). I dont find chasers to have a very friendly crowd. Thats my take on what Charlotte has to offer. These are my opinions of course, so please no one be offendeed. Different strokes for differrent folks. Enjoy your stay

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CMS Supt Peter Gorman spoke to the Business Guild on Tuesday. He was our monthly guest at The VanLandingham House on The Plaza. I came away very impressed by his candor and honesty. Quite refreshing for a public figure. Gay couples with children in the system asked about gay supportive policies and protections. Instead of prevaricating he was very straightforward in stating there were none. He is supportive of comprehensive inclusion in CMS but must work within the reality and mindset prevalent today. In CMS progress will come in stages regardless of how impatient some of us may be. Currently, steady progress is being made in including gay specific regulations on bullying district wide. Once that is accomplished larger goals will be aimed for. He apologized for the mess concerning the gay penguin book ban and said it was badly mishandled. Those who are supportive of increased protection for gay students in CMS are urged to contact your school board member to express support.

In other news the Chairman of The Community Center told us they will be announcing where they are moving soon. So I guess they are not staying put. The way she framed it sounded like they are in final stages of agreement but since it has not been signed, sealed and delivered they can't reveal the new location just yet. Next month on the third Tuesday we are hosting Jim Neal. The openly gay candidate running for Elizabeth Dole's senate seat. He is very charismatic ad combines progressive ideas and pragmatism in a package that could work in NC. He has to get by Kay Hagan first in the Dem primary. She bowed out early but agreed to jump back in as the establishment candidate after Jim's sexuality was revealed. Of course she denies this as the reason :rolleyes: So come out and hear him speak as he needs all the support he can get. And he is rather attractive IMHO :blush::lol:

Edited by voyager12
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...Next month on the third Tuesday we are hosting Jim Neal. The openly gay candidate running for Elizabeth Dole's senate seat. He is very charismatic ad combines progressive ideas and pragmatism in a package that could work in NC. He has to get by Kay Hagan first in the Dem primary. She bowed out early but agreed to jump back in as the establishment candidate after Jim's sexuality was revealed. Of course she denies this as the reason :rolleyes: So come out and hear him speak as he needs all the support he can get. And he is rather attractive IMHO :blush::lol:

I hate to be a naysayer, but there's no way an openly gay man will be elected to the Senate from NC. I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see it. The sad thing is, Dole is vulnerable and someone else (maybe Kay Hagan) might be able to bring her down. Maybe I'm being overly negative about my fellow North Carolinians, I don't know.

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I share the same concerns and vacillated. But I finally decided to fully support Neal's efforts. We won't know unless we try. He has been traveling statewide in rural and urban areas of NC and the feedback has been positive. He is close to Hagan according to internal polls. If Kay beats him in the primary I will vote for her because Dole has done a terribly lazy rubberstamp job of representing North Carolina.

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  • 2 weeks later...

To his credit, Gorman brought up the proposed anti-gay bullying rule at the CMS Board retreat as reported in The O. The usual suspects objected. I especially noted Kaye McGarry's incredibly obtuse and moronic argument that this rule protecting gay children who are already at increased risk for suicide, "would promote a pro-homosexual agenda". Her argument and Gjertsen's and Gavreau's is that bullying is already generally covered in the code. The major difference being that students are disciplined when making racist comments or told to stop when harassing someone because of their weight. This is not the case when gay students are harassed. The teachers that are not anti-gay themselves won't intervene if a kid is called is verbally attacked for being gay. They know the administration can't and won't back them up and they could lose their jobs for being gay friendly and being in support the "radical homosexual agenda" :rolleyes: A clear statement of equality is needed. But we just don't have the votes. Yet.

Edited by voyager12
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To his credit, Gorman brought up the proposed anti-gay bullying rule at the CMS Board retreat as reported in The O. The usual suspects objected. I especially noted Kaye McGarry's incredibly obtuse and moronic argument that this rule protecting gay children who are already at increased risk for suicide, "would promote a pro-homosexual agenda". Her argument and Gjertsen's and Gavreau's is that bullying is already generally covered in the code. The major difference being that students are disciplined when making racist comments or told to stop when harassing someone because of their weight. This is not the case when gay students are harassed. The teachers that are not anti-gay themselves won't intervene if a kid is called is verbally attacked for being gay. They know the administration can't and won't back them up and they could lose their jobs for being gay friendly and being in support the "radical homosexual agenda" :rolleyes: A clear statement of equality is needed. But we just don't have the votes. Yet.

Is this really the school board policy in Charlotte or NC? I find it incredibly unbelievable in 2008 in a city that is supposed to be progressive. Is this the state or the school district in Charlotte? Do elected officials still use the term "pro-homosexual agenda?" I take it the schools have no Gay-Straight Alliance organizations in NC if this is the attitude. Are there any "out" gay elected officials in the city, county or state? When you say you just don't have the votes, yet, are you talking about the general voting population? This is a big disapointment for me to find out about this. Does this mean an attack on a gay student in Charlotte schools would not be considered a hate crime?

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CMS has no policy regarding gay students or gay teachers. There are zero protections of any kind. Gorman would like to improve the situation but it's clearly an uphill climb and he has more opposition than support. McGarry and the other rightwing members of the school board have well earned reputations for being anti-gay. I would say the silent majority thinks they are wrong on most issues. However, a strong conservative suburban base keeps them in their seats. There are several gay straight alliances in the school district. But it's not uniform across the board. Clearly some high schools have student bodies that are more gay friendly or tolerant. Since most gay faculty and students don't feel safe and have no recourse gay teachers have been harassed. Some of have been blackmailed by their students. And the stories only get worse for the kids. What's the point of making these cases public when there is no support? The votes I referred to relate to the school board which would have the final say. Gavreau, McGarry, and Gjertsen would most likely all vote no. The only school board member who has been openly supportive is Trent Merchant. It's going to take a lot of pressure to swing everyone else. So contact your school board member and express your support.

On the state level the situation mirrors CMS. From what I hear, Chapel Hill Carrboro Schools has the most comprehensive and gay inclusive standard, which is logical. There are openly gay elected officials serving in different capacities in Raleigh-Durham Chapel Hill.

Edited by voyager12
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CMS has no policy regarding gay students or gay teachers. There are zero protections of any kind. Gorman would like to improve the situation but it's clearly an uphill climb and he has more opposition than support. McGarry and the other rightwing members of the school board have well earned reputations for being anti-gay. I would say the silent majority thinks they are wrong on most issues. However, a strong conservative suburban base keeps them in their seats. There are several gay straight alliances in the school district. But it's not uniform across the board. Clearly some high schools have student bodies that are more gay friendly or tolerant. Since most gay faculty and students don't feel safe and have no recourse gay teachers have been harassed. Some of have been blackmailed by their students. And the stories only get worse for the kids. What's the point of making these cases public when there is no support? The votes I referred to relate to the school board which would have the final say. Gavreau, McGarry, and Gjertsen would most likely all vote no. The only school board member who has been openly supportive is Trent Merchant. It's going to take a lot of pressure to swing everyone else. So contact your school board member and express your support.

On the state level the situation mirrors CMS. From what I hear, Chapel Hill Carrboro Schools has the most comprehensive and gay inclusive standard, which is logical. There are openly gay elected officials serving in different capacities in Raleigh-Durham Chapel Hill.

I think a lot of this stems from Charlotte having such a large city limits so much of "suburbia" is actually in Charlotte itself. Here in Orlando we have such a small city limits that most of it includes the more gay-friendly liberal center city. We have just elected our second openly gay member to the city council, while the school district is county-wide, the county has adopted the city policies on gay issues. That is one downfall of having such a large city, the more conservative suburbanites vote in the city council members. We have two mayors (excluding the other cities in Orange county). We have the Mayor of Orlando and also the Mayor of Orange County. The city mayor is Democrat, the county mayor is Republican, bu there has been much cooperation between city and county lately, this is one of the reasons I am against consolidated city-county governments. Orlando city has become very liberal and the county seems to be following suit since your next door neighbor may be in the county and you are in the city. I have become very proud of our gay acceptence, it is hardly an issue at all. And since we have had our GayDays for 10-15 years now and most of it occurs in the county and is the biggest money maker for Orange County out of all conventions etc and lasts for a week the county is happy to welcome the homosexuals and take their $$$. The opening party for the festivities is attended by almost all the big wigs in city and county government, including the Mayors of Orlando and Orange County and is quite a social event. And the welcoming brochures for the 150,000 attendies of the event include welcoming letters from both mayors and gay city council members. The Orlando Police department helps direct traffic in to the city clubs, and their are several circuit parties that are in the county on Disney property or nearby resort hotels. 7.7% of the residents of the city of Orlando are gay and 5.6% of the residents of Orange County are gay. That puts the Orlando metro in 2006 the 7th gayest metro in the nation tied with Minneapolis/St. Paul. The Tampa/St. Pete metro is 5th in the nation. Strangly enough Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/West Palm are not in the top ten, neither are Atlanta, LA or NYC. They have the numbers but not the percentages. And Ft. Lauderdale is similar to West Hollywood. St. Pete is becoming a very large gay mecca with Orlando close behind. But all that aside, I don't know how to help Charlotte in that aspect. Also St. Pete now has the largest pride event in the state with nearly 50,000 attending, and Orlando's Pride held in October keeps growing by 10,000 per year, last year was 30,000 in the cities signature park, Lake Eola, in the middle of the city, with the Mayor leading the parade. Just a few years ago, Orlando Pride only attracted around 1500 people in a city park picnic in a park not in the downtown area. This year rainbow flags flew from every main street lampost downtown. And many of the attendies were straight families living in the downtown area and even with their children. There were many beautiful floats from major corporations and Disney, Universal and SeaWorld. Even Charlottes Bank of America had a float. All this on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and evening. This years Pride even outdid the largest Pride event and parade in Orlando, the Puerto Rican Pride Parade and Festival which also was downtown this year. I really hope the diversity and growth in Charlotte spreads to the school system, I believe that tolerance in the schools has helped Orlando grow in this aspect by leaps and bounds. Charlotte looks like such a big beautiful city in the pictures and I follow the Charlotte thread constantly. We both have similar metro populations and no one is "from" here. Our main growth comes from NYC, NJ, California, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Russia. The average age here is much below the national average for a city, being 29.5 years old, maybe that has a lot to do with throwing out the old guard (government) and replacing it with a more progressive leadership. In the primary yesterday, Hillary won in the democratic category in the state, but Orlando and Orange County went with Obama by 52%. In the 2004 election, the important I-4 corridor from St. Pete to Daytona, the only blue counties were Orange, Osceola (metro Orlando) and Volusia County (Daytona.) I wish you luck in the Charlotte schools because that's where tolerance begins and I hope that can change soon. It happened almost overnight here so maybe the same will happen there. How diverse is Charlotte and where do the majority of new residents come from. Are they mainly Southerners moving in for the jobs or is it more international? We also have 2 hispanic city council members, 2 African Americans and 1 Russian. Ironically the old school policticians in Orlando have mostly retired to NC, former 2 former mayors in Maggie Valley and our old Orange County Mayor retired to Boone. North Carolina is where most Orlando socialites retire, mainly Asheville and Maggie Valley are full of Orlandoans. Sorry if I'm kind of off topic but I really am concerned about Charlotte Schools as I have a partner that is begging me to move to Charlotte (he is Puerto Rican, from the Island, not a Newyorcian or from New Jersey.) We are in the process of adopting (strangley illegal in Florida, but there are ways around it.) So let's get Charlotte school system set right so our child is not hurt or discriminated against. Any ideas? Thanks for listening to me babble. GO CHARLOTTE PRIDE, MAKE YOURSELFS KNOWN!!!

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^Keep in mind that CMS is a "county" system not a city system. So imagine how different the school system would be in Orlando if it included all of Orange county, which is not demographically much different from Mecklenburg except that it has a higher percentage of Hispanics. My guess is the resulting school board would have the same divisions as we have here in Charlotte.

The fact of the matter is that in general in the United States, there is an underlying homophobia that comes into play whenever you mention Gay along with marriage and/or children. The right wingers have done such a good job in in demonizing Gays over the decades that the average reasonable American becomes unreasonable whenever either subject comes up. This is a country where a huge huge deal is made of a woman's breast being shown on TV but nothing is said of people who come on and push for war all day long.

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I agree. And Metrowester, Charlotte is not the place for you if want an outwardly gay friendly environment. Charlotte is making slow progress and there are pockets of acceptance here and there but it's not a rainbow flying or gay couple handholding kind of place. Maybe this will change in the future, I hope so.

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^Keep in mind that CMS is a "county" system not a city system. So imagine how different the school system would be in Orlando if it included all of Orange county, which is not demographically much different from Mecklenburg except that it has a higher percentage of Hispanics. My guess is the resulting school board would have the same divisions as we have here in Charlotte.

Just a correction: The schools in Orlando are part of the county system. It's OCPS = Orange County Public Schools.

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I wasn't sure where to put this post, but figured it would fit in here...

This past weekend my friends and I (we are all straight), went to Loft 1523 to have some drinks. It was the first time we had been there, but heard about it through other friends. First of all, I thought the place had a great ambiance. The view of the city skyline were amazing, and they made some great martinis. When we got there, it was a mix of people (older, younger, gay, etc). For about the first hour or so, things were fine. Soon after, my group was being pelted with ice by a few of the gay guests that were there--in addition to getting some nasty looks. To my knowledge no one in my group said anything to anyone. Although we were very upset and offended, b/c we were just minding our own business, we wisely decided to leave instead of starting a bar fight. After that experience, I will have to say that will be my last time at that bar. Does anyone know if this is typical of the patrons at Loft 1523? I asked a friend of mine, who is gay, about this and he was quite shocked by the behavior. Though, he himself has never been there.

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^Keep in mind that CMS is a "county" system not a city system. So imagine how different the school system would be in Orlando if it included all of Orange county, which is not demographically much different from Mecklenburg except that it has a higher percentage of Hispanics. My guess is the resulting school board would have the same divisions as we have here in Charlotte.

The fact of the matter is that in general in the United States, there is an underlying homophobia that comes into play whenever you mention Gay along with marriage and/or children. The right wingers have done such a good job in in demonizing Gays over the decades that the average reasonable American becomes unreasonable whenever either subject comes up. This is a country where a huge huge deal is made of a woman's breast being shown on TV but nothing is said of people who come on and push for war all day long.

I totally agree with you Monsoon that we would elect a president based on peoples fears of gay marriage and then bankrupt the country in this unecesary war. It really pisses me off that the people in this country would rather have there children see a country destroyed in a war and thousands killed (extreme violence) just so some gay couples they don't even know might get married! It's madness!! Our children cannot see same sex couples show love or affection for each other but bloody violence is ok. And if we don't agree then we hate America and are unpatriotic. What a messed up nation we live in! And then after that last minute fear put in to the voters about gay marriage not much has been said done or attempted. We have a 60 year old African American roomate who is a democrat and is very in to the whole gospel thing, and the minister at her church convinced the majority of the congregation to vote Republican in the last election. And to add insult, she lives and gets along well with an openly gay couple...???? Nothing makes sense here in the USA!!

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I wasn't sure where to put this post, but figured it would fit in here...

This past weekend my friends and I (we are all straight), went to Loft 1523 to have some drinks. It was the first time we had been there, but heard about it through other friends. First of all, I thought the place had a great ambiance. The view of the city skyline were amazing, and they made some great martinis. When we got there, it was a mix of people (older, younger, gay, etc). For about the first hour or so, things were fine. Soon after, my group was being pelted with ice by a few of the gay guests that were there--in addition to getting some nasty looks. To my knowledge no one in my group said anything to anyone. Although we were very upset and offended, b/c we were just minding our own business, we wisely decided to leave instead of starting a bar fight. After that experience, I will have to say that will be my last time at that bar. Does anyone know if this is typical of the patrons at Loft 1523? I asked a friend of mine, who is gay, about this and he was quite shocked by the behavior. Though, he himself has never been there.

I have never been there either. Rude behavior is bad whatever one's sexual orientation. Who knows what caused the bad attitude it's hard to affix blame. We don't know if something was said by other patrons that upset them. It's all pure speculation but innocent bystanders such as yourself did not deserve to get glared at.

Edited by voyager12
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To answer the earlier question, 1 out of every 2 people in Mecklenburg County was born elsewhere. Domestically, we draw heavily from NY/NJ/OH/PA, with a surprising number of people from CA as well. Ethnicities are about 55% white, 35% black, 7% latino, 3% Asian if I'm not mistaken.

I've lived in and amongst a lot of gay enclaves and while that has its appeal, I prefer being part of a whole, with a broad mix of people. Of course, if the whole does not accept you that's difficult to do.

I'm going to the HRC dinner in ~10 days. I'm thrilled that this is being held in my hometown. Maybe there will be some extra excitement with that ridiculous Flip Benham screaming at us.

Is anyone here going to NY for the Black Party in March?

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I will not be at this year's soiree :fun: but I am happy about the honorees selected : Elke Kennedy, Myers Park Baptist Church, and a gay friendly civil rights minister. I expect a couple of protestors like last year but the numbers seem to dwindle as the years go by.

Kaye McGarry has gotten a lot of flak concerning her inane "agressive homosexual agenda" comment regarding a proposed gay inclusive anti-bullying policy. Letters to the editor at the O have taken her to task. Hopefully this is a sign that Charlotte is continuing to shed it's phobic past and looking forward to a more diverse and inclusive future.

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