Charlotte Pride

[uptownliving]

I didnt see this until today but WBTV is reporting on a confrontation between Bill James and Vilma Leake. Both of these commisioners are eccentric...but I think James really crossed the line and was pretty disrespectful in asking Vilma if her son was "homo"?

http://www.wbtv.com/global/category.asp?c=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=128873&topVideoCatNoB=132534&topVideoCatNoC=135991&topVideoCatNoD=139409&autoStart=true&clipId=4389985

[Forrest]

Durham, which was one of the earliest adopters of this policy restricts these benefits soley to gays as does Greensboro. The UNC professor who studied the question saw no impediment in current state law to bar this practice. She ended with the caveat that none of this has been tested in court.

Given the fact that over a dozen municipalities in NC have been doing this for years with no recourse against them I am not too concerned. Although with Mecklenburg being now the largest entity to do so it may make us a tempting litigation target. We shall see.

Bill James actions are beyond disgusting but after all these years we should recognize that he loves the attention he gets. It's laudable for Jennifer Roberts to call for an apology and sanction but it also just extends Bill's time in the media spotlight. I also acknowledge that Vilma Leake is no angel but she has been steadfast in her support for our community and I give her credit for being as restrained as she was in response.

If you are so inclined join me in sending thank you emails to those who voted in favor of our equality . The addresses are easy to find on the CC website. You know they are all getting major flak for this and they need to know we support them fully in their courageous decision.

[uptownboy]

I am happy that the County Commision voted in favor of the Domestic Partner Benefits...but I really think they have left themselves open to lawsuits by restricting the benefits to gay couples only. I think the argument could be made that this decision goes against Mecklenburgs stated policy not to discriminate against a person based on sexuality. But a str8 couple who is not married would not qualify for these benefits...but a gay couple in the same situation would. That seems to me to be blatent discrimination.

I think they should have made the Domestic Partner benefits open to people of all sexualities. That is the way that most companies do it.

As stated...the benefits are for both hetro and those in the LGBT community. Either way, get with it. Str8 people can marry....those in the LGBT community cannot.

How does one start an impeachment process for Bill James?

Edited December 16, 2009 by uptownboy

[abttown]

Just saw Mr. James' comment on the news. What a douchebag. The unfortunate reality is that he does in fact represent many people's opinion on the matter.

[Forrest]

Well, clearly most of Bill James constituents think he does a wonderful job. Hard for me to fathom but I suppose he is the inverse of my district commissioner Dumont Clarke. A conservative in a safe conservative district seat.

This is a pretty broad extrapolation but for arguments' sake lets say I agree with those that say marriage is too sacred an institution for gays to join. In a general sense DP benefits is the answer to that. We can't get married in NC so in an attempt for a modicum of fairness we are provided with partner benefits, not "marriage" benefits mind you "partner benefits" and yet we still have people freaking out. After telling us "just use a different word".

In my opinion what underlies all this is a continual personal revulsion toward gays. In general it's become less socially acceptable to hate us to our faces so in this era their true colors are expressed in the voting booth by taking stands against our equality.

Just judging by online polls and the O's comments section it's easy to think that all of Charlotte agrees with Bill James. I don't think that's the case. Seems to me that even in cities considered more liberal than Charlotte their paper's comments sections are dominated by ultra-conservatives.

Politically, I find the whole hot mess endlessly fascinating in a sociological sense. Charlotte is clearly going through the growing pains of becoming a more diverse and inclusive city. DP benefits are non issues in many similar sized cities across the country. We will get to that point too.

When City Council takes up these subjects their decisions will not be based on party line votes. Republican Edwin Peacock supports us and Democrat James Mitchell does not. Hopefully their deliberations will not devolve into a circus.

[jednc]

People, all people, deserve to be treated with respect. It doesn't really matter what James or anyone else feels is morally right or wrong. An elected official should know better than to say something like that.

[Forrest]

I agree. There is no reason why Bill James could not have done exactly what Bentley and Cooksey the other 2 no votes did, politely express his disagreement and leave it at that. The man is never going to apologize and will just milk it mediawise whatever disciplinary action may come his way.

[hokiehigh]

Looks like a new dance club is opening on Tuesday. The Club at Elizabeth. I think it is at the corner of Charlottetown and Elizabeth. That is two new bars in a few weeks.

[InitialD]

When City Council takes up these subjects their decisions will not be based on party line votes. Republican Edwin Peacock supports us and Democrat James Mitchell does not. Hopefully their deliberations will not devolve into a circus.

Obviously Dulin and Cooksey will also be no votes: From Dulin yesterday: "Mayor Foxx moving Clt hard left quick. Domestic Partner benifits will soon be on our agenda. I'm a no. The City can not afford it."

Saying you can't afford it is like saying the city/county can only afford social services for white residents.

[Forrest]

Funny, I don't see treating people equally as a "hard left" policy. And even in the Carolinas which is a conservative region, several of these laws are old hat in Columbia,Charleston and Winston Salem. Cities that are not known as liberal bastions like Chapel Hill/Carrboro and Durham. Asheville/Buncombe, because it's scenic and artsy has biggest gay friendly rep in the state but Mecklenburg has beaten what the New York Times has called "San Francisco South" to the punch when it comes to DP and employee protections. Neither the City of Asheville nor Buncombe County have any protections. That should change soon with the recent elections up there though.

Married people's health needs in the workplace are not subject to the it's too expensive excuse. They come along as a matter of course. Clearly we are not far along enough for gay people to have the same automatic validation. Still have to fight. It is somewhat surprising to me that DP's are going to be first up on City Council's local gay rights agenda. Cooksey would know what's going on so I take him at his word. Although I thought city employee nondiscrimination would go first and then DP's a little later because it's "controversial" However, local Democrats tend to follow along with the Obsever's editorial opinions. And they bluntly told City Council to get with the program and match the County Commission's move ASAP in an editorial last week. Plus there are several higher up business leaders who been pushing McCrory for years to no avail. So Foxx may have gotten some phone calls from them.

I suspect the only Republican vote we will get is Edwin Peacock's.

The local Republican Party seems to be dominated by the suburban rightwing and I think they resent Peacock's moderate Myers Park Republicanism. He was the only At Large Republican up for reelection to survive the local Democratic wave though.

I admit to not being completely up on the exact numbers for overall support on the Democratic side. I think James Mitchell is a no and not sure about Barnes. Have to go back and look but I do know that according to Qnotes and MECKPAC analyses the votes are there to get our issues passed.

Our DP victory gave me a huge boost of pride for our county, just have a feeling of being more respected as a fellow Mecklenburger.

After so many years of McCrory's refusal to acknowledge our existence, our victories on the city level will be equally gratifiying.

[Forrest]

Well,l I was way off base on Peacock. According to today's Observer he will not support DP benefits. And he got MECKPAC's full endorsement. Dissapointing. This could be closer than I thought. And Andy Dulin is a prick of monumental proportions.

'

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[Urbanity]

I think if Charlotte is serious about growing into a major metropolitan city it needs the basic protections and benefits for all employees. Yes there is a financial cost of providing benefits to all employees, but as Initial D mentioned:

Saying you can't afford it is like saying the city/county can only afford social services for white residents.

On the flip side - I don't think we can afford to appear intolerant when it comes to gays and lesbians. As most major corporations due provide domestic partner benefits to their employees any arguments against, particularly when they are dressed in harmful rhetoric, only go to hurt the city's image as not yet ready for prime-time. Something they need to think about as they continue to try to recruit more companies to the area.

Edited December 23, 2009 by Urbanity

[Forrest]

I emailed Peacock today to get some explanation for the WTF the moment I had after reading that he opposed DP benefits in the O today. All the times I have emailed Council members of all parties they never have gotten back to me on the same day. And I know this is a crazy time of year but I don't expect to hear back from him at all.

MECKPAC also needs to figure out wtf happened. They fully endorsed Peacock with no caveats. Per their site : ENDORSE = MeckPAC has determined that the candidate will be an effective advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality if elected, therefore, MeckPAC strongly encourages voting for the candidate.

Given that he opposes a core goal of our community I don't think he was worthy of a full endorsement and he should return any donations given if he lied about being supportive.

Being a gay news junkie, I got jealous and a little annoyed reading about other cities gay rights news on Queerty,Towleroad, Joe My God, Pam's House Blend and others.

So, its' been cool to see us getting mentioned lately on these sites. We got a mention on Advocate.com regarding the proposed citywide DP benes today.

Edited December 24, 2009 by Forrest

[Forrest]

So has anyone checked out the latest additions to the gay nightlife scene? The Bar at 316 ( formerly Liasons) does not seem to be radically different from it's predecessor, from what I hear. Is The Closet in the former Charlotte Eagle spot?

[southslider]

^Nope, Closet is in Elizabeth on Charlottetowne Avenue near CPCC. I haven't been to either Closet or Bar316.

[bchris02]

^Nope, Closet is in Elizabeth on Charlottetowne Avenue near CPCC. I haven't been to either Closet or Bar316.

I went to the Closet on its opening night. I am very impressed and it is a much better alternative to Scorpios, mostly because they actually play gay dance music and not gangsta rap. This kind of club was much needed in Charlotte. I hope it does well and sticks around. It should as long as a ton of dance clubs don't open at once to compete with it causing them all to shut down.

[Forrest]

^ I am glad to read a good review of the Closet but have to admit that the name bugs the hell out of me. May be seriously uptight here but happen to think that it trivializes what so many of us struggled to overcome. I know it's supposed to be tongue in cheek but it's just not funny to me.

[Forrest]

I checked out Bar 316 last night for New Years They really did a fantastic job updating the old house. Very cool and modern without being overdone. Now if they could only rehang a rainbow flag that Liasons took down even before they closed I would be quite content.

[Forrest]

According to the latest Qnotes we will see City DP's and employment non-discrimination taken up for discussion and a vote in the spring/summer. The earlier strategy was to pass employment protections earlier on and then go for DP's. Personally this plan made more sense to me. I think the County's relatively fast approval of DP's has inspired a go for it all at once push. Perhaps it's thought that pushing the timeline a little further out this year will help to lull the local anti-gay contingent. Although aside from James who is a given, the other usual suspects like Michael Brown,Flip Benham et al, sat this one out. It will be interesting to see whether City Council deliberations on this issue will rouse more visible pushback.

In regards to the Bill James DP slur, the editorial in Qnotes decried the radio silence from our community. Outside of Time Out Youth and Campus Pride there was no official reaction from MECKPAC,PFLAG, the Community Center or any other group. This lack of reaction puzzled and dissapointed me as well. When I have read of similar occurences in cities arguably more socially conservative than Charlotte, the local community center, other groups etc are all over it. I get and agree that going overboard on this circus just gives James more facetime. However, putting out a concise statement from the community center or MECKPAC was warranted and an opportunity to gain more support was missed.

We have no go to representation in Charlotte and I think it's an abdication of responsibility by the local orgs. It's important for us all to be out and advocate individually. We have zero institutional visibility. So getting out in front of incidents such as these mediawise to show the rest of town we won't be insulted and are not ashamed or in hiding is very important IMHO.

What is the point of having a "community center" if they don't stand up for the community?

Why didn't MECKPAC publicly slam Bill James for his slur or Andy Dulin on City Council for calling committed gay partners of City employees just "roommates"? Politics is not only about writing questions for elections or throwing fundraiser house parties.

I contacted both of them to express my anger. Heard nothing from James and got a BS " did not mean to be hateful" fakepology from Dulin.

This just illustrates that while great progress has been made we still face virulent entrenched and publicly elected homphobia. And these bigoted politicians put into office by fellow Charlotteans always get a pass from our supposed " gay community groups". Pathetic and depressing.

No wonder I am not a joiner.

[Skyybutter]

I went to the Closet on its opening night. I am very impressed and it is a much better alternative to Scorpios, mostly because they actually play gay dance music and not gangsta rap. This kind of club was much needed in Charlotte. I hope it does well and sticks around. It should as long as a ton of dance clubs don't open at once to compete with it causing them all to shut down.

LOLOL. "Gangsta rap".. I love it. I avoid Scorpio mostly for the music. Its good to know Closet plays better music. I have a friend from Atlanta that "hates" Charlottes gay clubs...so I will have to treat him to Closet when he comes up next. I for one would give a finger to have 300 Stonewall back. What a great venue it was. Oh well...heres to a new year...

[Norm2]

LOLOL. "Gangsta rap".. I love it. I avoid Scorpio mostly for the music. Its good to know Closet plays better music. I have a friend from Atlanta that "hates" Charlottes gay clubs...so I will have to treat him to Closet when he comes up next. I for one would give a finger to have 300 Stonewall back. What a great venue it was. Oh well...heres to a new year...

HeyHey, I actually like the rap music at Scorpios! I am not a big fan of "gay dance music" myself.

[bchris02]

HeyHey, I actually like the rap music at Scorpios! I am not a big fan of "gay dance music" myself.

Maybe throw in a few rap songs here and there and remix them to fit the theme. Going all hip-hop as Scorpios has done brings in an undesirable crowd. This may make them more money in the short run but believe me it will hurt them in the long run. Once all the decent patrons have left Scorpios for the Closet, that place is going to get very rough. Its already becoming more straight too. If Closet does well, the future of Scorpios is as a black straight club. The ONLY thing it still has going for it for the average gay person is the drag shows.

Edited January 16, 2010 by bchris02

[Norm2]

I think it is funny how a lot of people think that hip hop = undesirable people. That is very stereotypical thinking.

[DCMetroRaleigh]

Maybe throw in a few rap songs here and there and remix them to fit the theme. Going all hip-hop as Scorpios has done brings in an undesirable crowd. This may make them more money in the short run but believe me it will hurt them in the long run. Once all the decent patrons have left Scorpios for the Closet, that place is going to get very rough. Its already becoming more straight too. If Closet does well, the future of Scorpios is as a black straight club. The ONLY thing it still has going for it for the average gay person is the drag shows.

If by undesirable crowd, you mean most young people, then perhaps you have a point. I only go to clubs that play hip hop or Latin, and avoid clubs that play outdated, stereotypical gay "dance" music that sounds rather effeminate. The fact is that stereotypically gay dance music is way out of style, considered uncool by most. In most big cities today, most clubs, gay, straight, or mixed, play hip hop. Hip hop rules youth culture. That's a fact. If you want to bring in the masses, hip hop is the way to go. In DC, almost all of the major clubs, gay or otherwise, play hip hop. I also like the fact that hip hop is actually unifying people at venues, mixing blacks with whites and Latinos, gays with bisexuals and straights, urban with suburbans. I love going into the club and seeing mixed demographics all unified under the powerful lure of hip hop. That's wassup. People want to hear what's hot, now, and considered cool. Certainly, if you want me to patronize a bar, club, or lounge, it better play hip hop or Latin.

Edited January 16, 2010 by DCMetroRaleigh

[bchris02]

If by undesirable crowd, you mean most young people, then perhaps you have a point. I only go to clubs that play hip hop or Latin, and avoid clubs that play outdated, stereotypical gay "dance" music that sounds rather effeminate. The fact is that stereotypically gay dance music is way out of style, considered uncool by most. In most big cities today, most clubs, gay, straight, or mixed, play hip hop. Hip hop rules youth culture. That's a fact. If you want to bring in the masses, hip hop is the way to go. In DC, almost all of the major clubs, gay or otherwise, play hip hop. I also like the fact that hip hop is actually unifying people at venues, mixing blacks with whites and Latinos, gays with bisexuals and straights, urban with suburbans. I love going into the club and seeing mixed demographics all unified under the powerful lure of hip hop. That's wassup. People want to hear what's hot, now, and considered cool. Certainly, if you want me to patronize a bar, club, or lounge, it better play hip hop or Latin.

I understand your point but it also depends on what you consider hip-hop. If you are talking about this:

Then thats all fine and good, but most of the time the music in Scorpios sounds a little more like this:

Which DOES bring in an undesirable crowd and is what most clubs (except primarily black clubs) are trying to get away from. On most nights at Scorpios, the crowd is hardly mixed or united. You might as well go to a club like 935 where Velocity used to be. Another example of this is local radio stations 96.1 The Beat vs. Power 98. Both play hip-hop but appeal to a completely different audience.

Edited January 16, 2010 by bchris02