Friday, May 1, 2009

Equality in the News: April 25 - May 1, 2009

Time for another news update! First things first...

If you've been keeping up to date with our Action Alerts, you know that things are happening with the School Violence Prevention Act and the Healthy Youth Act. Try forwarding this link to 3-5 of your family members and friends across the state - ones you may not have tried before. The web address to forward is: http://eqfed.org/campaign/svpa_2. The opposition is organizing as best as they can, and they can be a powerful bunch so let your voices of reason be heard. Let's make next week's news roundup full of good news about these important bills!

On a national level - the federal Hate Crimes Bill (Matthew Shepard Act) passed in the House, with no help from our very own Representative Virginia Foxx! And now, the week in news.
  • WXII of the Triad featured a little video about the Virginia Foxx controversy, featuring School Violence Prevention Act advocates Kate & Neena Mabe. If you haven't yet checked out the Mabes moving remarks during our SVPA Press Conference, check them out at our YouTube channel.
  • Continuing their coverage on Ms. Foxx, WXII sought our very own Ian Palmquist for his thoughts on the controversy here.
  • The Hickory Daily Record becomes yet another ally supporting the Healthy Youth Act. They know that North Carolina needs to give young people information they need about sex.
  • To read about the Healthy Youth Act and School Violence Prevention Act advancing out of committee, check out the AP article here.
  • By now, you're probably familiar with Carl Walker-Hoover and Jaheem Ferrera, the 11-year old victims of bullying who ended their own lives within weeks of each other. Although this didn't happen in North Carolina, we know that bullying affects everyone - from students, to staff, parents, families, and communities. The New York Times blog features their story and alarming statistics about nationwide bullying. It's a must-read, and you can check it out here.
  • One of our wonderful board members, Dan Gurley, is quoted in an article about Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter's headline-grabbing shift from Republican to Democrat. Salon.com has the story here.
  • Raleigh's News & Observer mentions how Marriage Discrimination Amendment supporters are having a hard time finding that support on Facebook. Find out how many more people support marriage equality than discrimination (on Facebook, anyway) here.
  • Equality NC has Twitter, and Ian does a great job posting live updates from Legislative Sessions concerning our bills - it's almost like you're there! Make sure you follow us to get those updates.
Congratulations to Seth and Stephen, our fabulous interns who are graduating from their Master's in Social Work program this week! We're proud of you.

Thanks for reading! Stay dry this weekend, and enjoy yourselves!

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