Equality in the News: March 21 - 27, 2009

Wow! What an exciting week we've had here at Equality NC. Tuesday was our very successful Day of Action, which drew a record crowd, and on Wednesday, Sen. Albertson introduced this year's Employment Non-Discrimination Act (which includes sexual orientation and gender identity). Your local media round-up is below:

Employment Non-Discrimination:

• Under the Dome had a post about our Non-Discrimination in State Employment bill.
  
• A new study by the UCLA Williams Institute found that gays & lesbians are more likely to live in poverty than their heterosexual counterparts. This further exemplifies the need for an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Pam Spaulding covered the story on her blog.

School Violence Prevention Act:

• New Bern's Sun Journal featured an article focusing on the personal effects of bullying and the School Violence Prevention Act. The article also has some wise words from Ian Palmquist, which you can check out right here.
• Keep checking the Bullying Blog for regular updates on stories, or share yours by e-mailing them to Wes.
  

Day of Action:

• News 14's great coverage of the Day of Action, featuring Kate Mabe, can be streamed on their website.
• Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend wrote an enlightening blog about her experience with the Day of Action, specifically discussing how her meetings with members of the NC Legislature's Black Caucus here. We (via Pam) even got a shout-out on the LGBT-centric Towleroad blog!
  

Marriage Discrimination Amendment:

• News 14 also covered the Elon University Poll, showing a majority of opposition for a constitutional amendment here.
• For any polling geeks out there, Under the Dome couldn't get enough of that Elon poll, with posts on wording, the consistency of answers to three questions, the Family Policy Council's reaction, the change since a previous (differently worded) Elon poll, how it compares to the conservative Civitas poll and national polling, and how this poll undermines a "whereas" in the bill. All that lead up to this little item in the News & Observer.
  
• Durham's City Council debated a pro-marriage resolution to be submitted to the General Assembly in support of marriage equality. Pam, as usual, is in the know and shares that information here.
• ENC Board Member Addison Ore wrote a touching op-ed advocating for marriage equality in Greensboro's News & Record, and we highly suggest you check it out here.
• Durham's not the only one to show their support - Boone's City Council continues their support of LGBT rights with a unanimous vote to oppose the Marriage Discrimination Amendment, and Appalachian State's student newspaper covered that excellent decision here.
• Eyewitness News 9 out of Eastern NC focused on the Marriage Discrimination Amendment in a recent two-part sement, unfortunately titled Redefining Marriage. Her's part one and part two.
  
• You may be seeing a lot of these pop up in your local news papers. If you came to the Day of Action, you received a great information sheet on some great Marriage Discrimination Amendment talking points, and they might help you to craft your own letters to the editor to combat NC4Marriage's efforts to politicize and manipulate our simple request for equal treatment under the law. Soon, we'll try to have that information online so that everyone can benefit from it.

That about does it for this week. Again, we can't thank enough the more than 250 supporters who came out for the Day of Action and over 400 virtual attendees who contacted their legislators through our online Action Network. You truly made a difference, and don't forget to keep in touch and build on those relationships you were able to begin. Enjoy your weekend and we'll see you next week! :)