ENC in the News: March 28 - April 3, 2009

Slow news week on the state front, even though exciting things are happening in Vermont and Iowa! Here's the roundup for this week:

• The Washington Blade, while covering national marriage equality news, mentioned the Marriage Discrimination Amendment and it's status, including a quote from our Executive Director, Ian Palmquist. Scroll down a bit on this page to read more.
• Speaking of marriage, as I'm sure many of you have heard that Iowa's Supreme Court voted unanimously to allow same-sex marriage. To a few, it's the end of modern civilization. To us, it's just an example of liberty and justice prevailing for all. To read a summary of the court's decision (including the court's compelling counterpoints to common opposition arguments), the Towleroad blog has that here.
• The Independent Weekly out of the Triangle area mentioned the School Violence Prevention Act and the insulting counter-bill introduced by Rep. Paul Stam (which leaves out the enumerated categories). Though the article was written on April 1st, unfortunately Paul Stam's homophobic response to the SVPA is not a prank.
• Our friends at Q Notes wrote about the Day of Action, which you can read here.
• The Healthy Youth Act, which was voted out of committee yesterday, was featured in an article about "misleading bill titles," in the Charlotte Observer. Apparently, they don't see how protecting kids from disease and unintended pregnancy promotes health? You can read that article (and offer your two cents) here.
• Don't forget next Tuesday, April 7, is HIV/AIDS Advocacy Day at the State Legislature. For more information, or to register, click here.
  
• This weekend is the Unity Conference at UNC-Chapel Hill, and if you're interested in some of the events, you can find more information here.
  

That about does it for this week's roundup. We'll be keeping our eyes and ears peeled for any new developments with our current legislation for next week. If you have friends of family in Vermont, please urge them to call Governor Douglass at 800-649-6825 and urge him not to veto their marriage equality bill.

Have a wonderful weekend!