Calling for Equality

Guest post from Equality NC Intern Hillary Waugh.

Today, Equality NC Fellow, Seth, and I spent the afternoon making phone calls. Admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of speaking on the telephone, especially with so many other forms of technology available. However, today’s calls were important, since we were speaking with individuals associated with Equality North Carolina.

The School Violence Prevention Act (SVPA) has faced a good amount of trouble within the House of Representatives, with several representatives potentially changing their “yes” vote on the bill to a “no.” The vote count on this legislation has been close from the start, so any changes can be damaging. Since these vote changes are relatively last minute, we wanted to make sure as many supporters of the bill in these districts are aware that their representatives’ votes are on the fence.

The vote on the SVPA has been pushed back to next week, and we were tasked with getting in contact with as many people in these districts as possible. While Equality NC has been sending email messages and action letters, sometimes an even more personal form of contact can make a big impact.

Although I was initially apprehensive about cold calling those from our mailing list, I was extremely pleased with the responses we received. Everyone we spoke with either had already taken action by emailing and/or calling their representatives, or was willing to do so. Many also said they would pass the word on to their families and friends living in the area to make sure their support is heard here in Raleigh.

Nearly all of these individuals thanked us for the work we were doing, which was extremely inspiring. I thanked them in return, since showing their support of the SVPA to their representatives can do much more than any of the phone calls that Seth and I made. I am reminded that while we are doing worthwhile work here, others across the state that are inspired to take action on behalf of Equality NC do the greatest work by responding to emails and action requests, calling your legislators, and talking about issues that are important to LGBT North Carolinians.

So if you received a phone call from either Seth or myself, or have taken any action on behalf of Equality NC, thank you so much for all that you do in creating equality for all.