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  • Public prayer losing ground in North Carolina?

    County commissioners in the sleepy, liberal town of Asheville, N.C., have made a “consensus” decision to end public prayer at their meetings. The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners are set to bring the topic up for official discussion on Jan. 5. They’ll likely vote to stop opening board meetings with prayer. [...]
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    Posted: December 10, 2009, 8:51am EST
    by Matt Comer

  • Nat’l org salutes Triad Equality Alliance

    Freedom to Marry, a national advocacy and education organization on marriage equality issues, is saluting North Carolina’s Triad Equality Alliance for their media advocacy efforts. The organization has funded several LGBT awareness building billboards in Greensboro and Winston-Salem. Freedom to Marry writes: Freedom to Marry salutes the Triad Equality Alliance for their [...]
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    Posted: December 09, 2009, 10:25pm EST
    by Matt Comer

  • Yes, but will he lead like Terry Sanford?

    Former N.C. State Sen. Cal Cunningham, a Winston-Salem, N.C.-native living in nearby Davidson County, has announced his challenge to Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, also of Winston-Salem. Other than the interesting regional connection between the two pols and what that means for the continued East-to-West political shift in the Tar Heel [...]
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    Posted: December 09, 2009, 1:14am EST
    by Matt Comer

  • Gay Appalachian Mountains project receives $6K grant

    There used to be a time — and that time, in many respects, might still be now — when most people thought of urban areas as the only places in to find any sort of measurable or visible LGBT presence. As gays move forward in our movement for civil and [...]
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    Posted: December 08, 2009, 10:16pm EST
    by Matt Comer

  • Not in the least bit surprised

    Sing with me… It’s that time of year, when I sit at my desk and research the year, sifting through… o-old stories of important ga-ay news! I was in the office late last night putting our Dec. 12 print issue of Q-Notes to bed. I wanted to get in the office [...]
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    Posted: December 07, 2009, 3:06pm EST
    by Matt Comer

  • ‘Their blood shall be upon them’

    Number of comments: 2
    There’s a lot of talk here recently over a proposed anti-gay death penalty law in Uganda. Activists and news organizations have linked the legislation’s Ugandan proponents to several high-profile American religious leaders and politicians. The law, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009, would make gay sex a crime punishable by death. The [...]
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    Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:23pm EST
    by Matt Comer

  • Charlotte: Queen City of LGBT invisibility?

    Number of comments: 1
    For the past few weeks I’ve been on an activism-through-journalism swing over at my day job. In a two-part, pre- and post-election opinion column, I ranted and raved over the lack of LGBT equality and recognition in Charlotte, North Carolina’s largest city. In the column prior to Election Day, I [...]
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    Posted: November 27, 2009, 2:32pm EST
    by Matt Comer

  • Hope in Virginia? Gay adoption upheld

    Fears that the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution could be used to further LGBT equality have been the lynchpin of anti-gay advocates’ efforts to pass, first, statutory “Defense of Marriage” laws and, later, state constitutional amendments prohibiting relationship recognition for same-sex couples. It seems LGBT advocates’ dreams [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 7:56pm EST
    by Matt Comer

  • Do what love requires

    Number of comments: 1
    In a post at Bilerico.com, I write a bit on the current controversy bubbling out of the impending marriage equality vote by the Washington, D.C. City Council. The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., is threatening to pull its social services if the bill passes. They say their religious freedoms and the [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 8:19am EST
    by Matt Comer

  • Is OutGayLife back to its old copyright infringement tricks?

    Number of comments: 2
    A special follow-up to our Jan. 6, 2009 exclusive, “OutGayLife website network allegedly stealing news content from gay pubs, blogs, mainstream press” Update: See important update at bottom of post. After coming under fire for republishing more than 300 Associated Press articles and dozens more from LGBT-focused blogs, news organizations, publications and [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2009, 1:02pm EST
    by Matt Comer

  • The anti-gay plan to undo hate crimes law

    Number of comments: 4
    Both Queerty and Bilerico have commented on a WND story about a challenge next week to the new hate crimes legislation signed by Obama on Oct. 27. They say anti-gay activists are attempting to call for violence against LGBT people. I think the plan is much simpler and less sinister, [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 7:16pm EST
    by Matt Comer

  • Want a private conversation? Take it off twitter

    Number of comments: 1
    Along with following election results on county boards of election sites, news sites and TV, I’d also been following updates via twitter yesterday and through today. It got a little interesting this morn. It seems I “butted in” to what others thought might have been a private conversation. The problem? [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 1:50pm EST
    by Matt Comer

  • Want some fried chicken with your book burning?

    Number of comments: 7
    One church in Canton, N.C., “celebrated” Halloween in a special way this past weekend. You might have seen the reports about it in the AP or in hundreds of blogs. Amazing Grace Baptist Church planned a book burning on Oct. 31. According to their website, the event was a success. [...]
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    Posted: November 02, 2009, 8:27am EST
    by Matt Comer

  • Open Discussion: National Equality March

    Number of comments: 6
    I was not at the National Equality March but I know many Interstate Q readers were. Here’s the space to share your experience, process the event, and ask questions. I’m looking forward to all of the insight! [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 1:36am EDT
    by Brian

  • Not dead, just busy

    Number of comments: 1
    No, I’m not dead. Neither is my blog. I’ll be back with a passion unlike anything you’ve seen before. But, prior to that, I have to un-busy myself and thin down my schedule. Ha. Like that’s possible. [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 6:30pm EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Levi’s Playgirl spread

    A short, but hilarious twitter convo to help take your mind off whatever political mayhem in which you currently find yourself overwhelmed: interstateq Ooo goodie: http://snipr.com/rjuuk Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks Levi Johnston is hot? KipEsquire @interstateq Perhaps, but only in a “dumb submissive houseboy” sense. (Indeed, [...]
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    Posted: September 02, 2009, 4:43pm EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • One-sided coverage in S.C. Lt. Gov. outing

    On Monday, Washington, D.C.-based blogger and activist Mike Rogers outed as gay South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer. With a 100 percent rack record outing anti-gay, closeted politicians, Rogers’ reporting can’t be ignored. Try telling that to NBC affiliate WIS 10 in Columbia, the Palmetto State’s capital. In a report by Jack [...]
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    Posted: September 01, 2009, 8:39pm EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • A letter from Don

    Number of comments: 2
    At least a year ago, if not longer, I bought a DVD from the American Family Association. Call it opposition research if you will. Of course, in the process of the purchase, I had to provide my email address along with all my billing information, including mailing address. Guess what [...]
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    Posted: September 01, 2009, 5:06pm EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • A step backward at Calvin?

    In the spring of 2007, I was blessed to be among 25 of my peers on the Soulforce Equality Ride. We visited over a dozen schools, and while the overwhelming majority were hostile to the message of the Gospel’s inclusive love, there were bright spots along the way. One of [...]
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    Posted: September 01, 2009, 8:55am EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Confusion or coercion?

    Number of comments: 4
    Anti-gay researcher and Regent University prof Mark Yarhouse is at it again. He’s released several studies and what not exploring “ex-gays” and human sexuality. His most recent release is a survey of 104 “sexual minority” youth at Christian colleges. In a “study” of the (extremely undersampled) surveys, Yarhouse (and a host [...]
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    Posted: August 31, 2009, 6:43pm EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Southern Baptists in their final death throes?

    Number of comments: 7
    Dr. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ken., says the Southern Baptist Convention is in danger of collapse. The Associated Press reported today on a recent Mohler speech on the campus of the seminary. He told students, faculty and staff that Southern Baptists must either [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 7:47pm EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Gays, gays and gays… Oh My!

    Number of comments: 4
    Everyone knows the radical right is, for whatever reason, absolutely fixated on anal sex. Everything they do and say always seems to come back to the “homosexual agenda.” This week, the Christian Action League of North Carolina takes the cake. In their weekly email newsletter, the group sent out summaries of [...]
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    Posted: August 22, 2009, 2:45pm EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Follow-up: N.C. senator victim of homophobia?

    Number of comments: 1
    On Aug. 14, I posted briefly about the continuing controversy down in North Carolina’s coast. Democratic State Sen. RC Soles has been accused of molestation. In the piece on Aug. 14, I incorrectly stated two young men had accused the senator of misconduct. Only one has. Twenty-seven-year-old Stacy Scott has claimed [...]
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    Posted: August 17, 2009, 12:42pm EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • N.C. state senator accused of molestation

    Where in the hell have I been? For a couple of weeks, TV news down on the North Carolina coast has been reporting of sexual misconduct allegations thrown toward 74-year-old Democratic N.C. State Sen. R.C. Soles. It seems there are two men, a 17-year-old and a 27-year-old, who claim the senator had [...]
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    Posted: August 14, 2009, 9:38pm EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Bill Clinton and me

    Number of comments: 1
    I don’t know Bill Clinton. I’ve never met him. I’ve only seen him speak live once — last night when he gave the opening keynote at Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh. Nonetheless, I do feel like I know good ol’ Bill. He was my president as a child growing up in [...]
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    Posted: August 14, 2009, 11:33am EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • From Prop 8 to full equality

    Number of comments: 1
    The small workshop room is almost full for one of the first morning panels at Netroots Nation. The panel is “From Prop 8 to full equality,” and the panelists are Julia Rosen, online director for the Courage Campaign; blog mistress extraordinaire Pam Spaulding; Michael Wilson from Americans for Democratic Action; [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2009, 9:44am EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Hello Pittsburgh

    Good morning America, live from Pittsburgh. Today is the day. Thousands of progressive bloggers, journalists, activists and politicians gather in the Steel City for four days of networking, conferencing, workshops, education and more at this year’s Netroots Nation. I’m here, too. Completely excited and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of everything [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2009, 8:16am EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • A new South Carolina secession?

    It seems Palmetto State Episcopalians aren’t too happy with their national denomination. Will the Diocese of South Carolina pull out of the Episcopal Church and join ranks with The Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), or will they stay in the church as “loyal opposition”? A new commentary at VirtueOnline.org asks [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 8:04am EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Christie Hefner’s famous last name

    Did anyone else see Christie Hefner on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday? She provided her input on Hillary Clinton’s outburst at a press conference in the Congo and talked about the pressure of having a famous last name. I’m sure Christie knows how that feels. I can’t imagine living life [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 7:46am EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Taboo

    Number of comments: 1
    An online only feature commentary from Q-Notes: Forbidden Fruit Despite the largely progressive nature of the LGBT community, we still have our taboos by Matt Comer The LGBT community might be an overwhelmingly liberal bunch, but don’t think for an instant that progressivism prevents an occasional prudishness. As in any community or society, [...]
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    Posted: August 08, 2009, 11:24am EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Any Democrat is better than any Republican

    Number of comments: 1
    Back when Democrat Heath Shuler was running for U.S. House there was an awful lot of talk about how having any Democrat would be better than any Republican. Of course, it really doesn’t matter when the Democrat being elected is just as conservative as the Republican he replaced. Shuler’s 11th [...]
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    Posted: August 05, 2009, 8:09am EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • How nice: anti-gay leader ‘denounces’ Tel Aviv shootings

    After being called out for his use of militant and violent rhetoric regarding his “Jesus revolution,” anti-gay leader Dr. Michael Brown, of Charlotte’s Coalition of Conscience, released a statement “categorically and unequivocally denouncing†the shootings at a Tel Aviv LGBT youth center on Saturday evening. From the release: Brown, himself a [...]
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    Posted: August 04, 2009, 7:44pm EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Audio: Matt Comer on ‘Line of Fire’

    Enclosure: [download]
    Number of comments: 2
    Below is audio from my appearance on Dr. Michael Brown’s “Line of Fire” radio show on Thursday, July 23, 2009. You can also listen at Brown’s website. For background, read “On the edge: Religious militancy in the Queen City.” Hour One Download here (Clip is approx. 40 minutes long) Hour Two Download here (Clip [...]
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    Posted: July 24, 2009, 12:20pm EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Two Queer Perspectives on President Obama

    Number of comments: 1
    First off, hello from long-ago to regular readers and hello for the first time to new readers With that out of the way, here are two perspectives on President Obama which I found on the same day. I hear myself saying “YES! YES!” to both. All things in tension? What [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 4:30pm EDT
    by Brian

  • On the edge: Religious militancy in the Queen City

    Enclosure: [download]
    Number of comments: 10
    Introduction How thin of a line exists between violent word and thought, and violent action and deed? That’s a question answered plenty of times before, from Christian Crusades and Inquisitions of ages past to the modern day of radical Islamic terrorism. But, it is a question yet to be answered in [...]
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    Posted: July 17, 2009, 8:14am EDT
    by Matt Comer

  • Mark Sanford the sex offender

    For days on end now, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has found himself in a sticky political and personal mess. Having an affair and cheating on the mother of your four boys is bad enough. Sneaking off, lying about your whereabouts, completely abdicating your duties and risking impeachment for malfeasance, [...]
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    Posted: July 06, 2009, 1:09pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Lest we forget…

    Number of comments: 1
    The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers [...]
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    Posted: July 04, 2009, 1:01am EDT
    by Matt

  • Domestic violence: ‘keep it quiet’

    Number of comments: 1
    The mayor of Mulberry, Fla., was attacked by his partner in the early morning hours of Friday, June 19. According to news station WTSP Channel 10, 29-year-old Eugene Ornelas came home at 5 a.m. in the morning with someone he met at a local bar. Ornelas is Mayor Julian Mullis’ [...]
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    Posted: June 22, 2009, 11:49am EDT
    by Matt

  • A recommendation: Senate’s apology for slavery

    Number of comments: 4
    The U.S. Senate will debated a resolution, Senate Concurrent Resolution 26, apologizing for slavery and “Jim Crow” today The resolution reads that the Senate… Acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws; Apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs [...]
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    Posted: June 18, 2009, 3:33pm EDT
    by Matt

  • National Right to Life holds convention in Charlotte

    Number of comments: 5
    The National Right to Life Committee, the nation’s largest anti-choice organization, will hold its annual convention in Charlotte June 18-20 (Charlotte Observer story here). The group’s annual convention, being held at the Blake Hotel in Uptown Charlotte, will feature dozens of speakers, including anti-choice and anti-gay activists and leaders. U.S. Rep. Chris [...]
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    Posted: June 11, 2009, 9:04am EDT
    by Matt

  • Five Alternatives to the March on Washington

    Number of comments: 10
    It has become one of my biggest pet peeves (and, I do have many) since beginning work at a “real world” day job. When people offer complaint, they should also offer a suggestion for improvement or a solution. Criticism is fine by me, but it should be constructive. Veteran activist Cleve [...]
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    Posted: June 09, 2009, 10:36pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Retiring “Matt Hill Comerâ€

    Number of comments: 1
    I got a call today from a friend in Washington, D.C. He asked me, “Are you going by Matt Hill Comer or Matt Comer, because you’re using both.” And, he would be right. When I changed my last name in college (long story, read it here), I went by “Matt Hill Comer†[...]
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    Posted: June 09, 2009, 4:58pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Bishop Harry Jackson favors banning divorce, requiring forced marriages

    In a column for the conservative Townhall.com, anti-gay pastor Biship Harry Jackson, Jr., laments over the psychological and biological harms of children living outside of families headed up by one dad and one mom. Among his facts: Consider these statistics. Over half of Americans studied in a survey in 2001 by Harvard [...]
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    Posted: June 09, 2009, 3:15pm EDT
    by Matt

  • A step in the right direction for Winston-Salem students

    Good news from my childhood hometown and school system: The North Carolina Senate passed a “local bill” on Monday, changing current Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education elections from partisan to non-partisan. Already passed by the House and not in need of the governor’s approval, the bill is now law. The [...]
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    Posted: June 09, 2009, 1:03pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Obama: Defender of Discrimination?

    Number of comments: 1
    Throughout the campaign and through his first few months in office, we’ve heard Obama and his assistants say that the president is still committed to repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Except, Obama’s administration isn’t fighting to repeal the ban. Instead, they’re fighting to defend it. The Associated Press reports (emphasis added): The [...]
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    Posted: June 08, 2009, 11:48am EDT
    by Matt

  • DeMint: Twisting history on economic progress

    Number of comments: 6
    South Carolina’s Greenville News has a report on U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and his vision for the Republican Party. Raju Chebium reports: Since Democrats took control of Congress and the White House in January, the South Carolina Republican has sharpened his message of economic fundamentalism and is trying to get more [...]
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    Posted: June 07, 2009, 12:56pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Freedom of the Press? Not in Charlotte

    Number of comments: 1
    The Charlotte Observer reports: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police have launched an internal investigation into a confrontation between an officer and a WBTV (Channel 3) photographer in which a camera was damaged and the photographer detained. The incident occurred near midnight Friday. Travis Washington, a photographer with Channel 3 for about three years, was [...]
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    Posted: June 03, 2009, 8:58am EDT
    by Matt

  • No thanks for table crumbs

    On June 1, President Barack Obama issued an official proclamation on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and National Pride Month. The resolution is reprinted in its entirety below, but, first, my thoughts. Should we thank Obama for the proclamation? Criticize or chastise him for not yet doing more to help [...]
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    Posted: June 02, 2009, 8:54am EDT
    by Matt

  • ‘Family is really all that counts’

    Number of comments: 2
    June 1 was the Fourth Annual Blogging for LGBT Families day. As usual, I got busy and yet busier still. The day just came and went without a moment’s notice. Thanks to organizer Dana Rudolph for the late-day reminder of the blogging day. I like to contribute every year. Most of [...]
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    Posted: June 01, 2009, 11:42pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Christian Century on ‘Crisis’

    Number of comments: 1
    The Christian Century magazine published an outstanding review of “Crisis: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing up Gay in America.” Edited by Mitchell Gold, the book was released in September 2008, has received rave reviews from all corners of the country. David P. Gushee, [...]
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    Posted: June 01, 2009, 8:06am EDT
    by Matt

  • Charlotte’s first openly gay candidate?

    Owen Sutkowski will officially kick off his campaign for Charlotte City Council on May 28. He might just be Charlotte’s first openly gay man on a ballot for city election. But a couple Q-Notes readers say a man named Robert Sheets ran as an openly gay man on the ballot in [...]
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    Posted: May 27, 2009, 9:25am EDT
    by Matt

  • Fessing Up: Gay men and ideals of beauty

    Number of comments: 1
    This is the fifth and final installment of the five-week commentary series, “Fessing Up: exploring the dirty little secrets of the gay community.” The purpose of the series, will be to open community discussion with frank and honest thoughts and debate. Ignoring problems that exist inside our community and among [...]
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    Posted: May 21, 2009, 2:43pm EDT
    by Devon Hunter

  • Fessing Up: The Magnetic Divide and Viral Apartheid

    Number of comments: 6
    This is the fourth installment of the five-week commentary series, “Fessing Up: exploring the dirty little secrets of the gay community.” The purpose of the series, will be to open community discussion with frank and honest thoughts and debate. Ignoring problems that exist inside our community and among some of [...]
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    Posted: May 14, 2009, 10:45am EDT
    by Todd Heywood

  • Fessing Up: HIV/AIDS

    Number of comments: 2
    This is the third installment of the five-week commentary series, “Fessing Up: exploring the dirty little secrets of the gay community.” The purpose of the series, will be to open community discussion with frank and honest thoughts and debate. Ignoring problems that exist inside our community and among some of [...]
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    Posted: May 08, 2009, 12:06pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Virginia Foxx’s backlash: How wrong I was

    Number of comments: 3
    I spoke to Mark Binker at The News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.) on Wednesday regarding Rep. Virginia Foxx’s “hoax” comments regarding Matthew Shepard. Speaking about her district, I said: “She’s not going to have any blow-back there,†Comer said. “More than likely, there will be a lot of people who agree [...]
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    Posted: April 30, 2009, 7:29pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Fessing Up: Promiscuity & Unsafe Sex

    Number of comments: 10
    This is the second installment of the five-week commentary series, “Fessing Up: exploring the dirty little secrets of the gay community.” The purpose of the series, will be to open community discussion with frank and honest thoughts and debate. Ignoring problems that exist inside our community and among some of [...]
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    Posted: April 30, 2009, 9:34am EDT
    by Matt

  • Fessing Up: Substance abuse

    Number of comments: 8
    This is the first installment of the five-week commentary series, “Fessing Up: exploring the dirty little secrets of the gay community.” The purpose of the series, announced last week, will be to open community discussion with frank and honest thoughts and debate. Ignoring problems that exist inside our community and [...]
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    Posted: April 23, 2009, 8:26am EDT
    by Matt

  • I love college Charlotte

    Just had to share… hilarious, silly, over the top… yeah I’d heard the song on a local radio station days ago. Didn’t know there was a video. (h/t CLTBlog) [...]
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    Posted: April 23, 2009, 7:13am EDT
    by Matt

  • Definition of ‘right-wing extremism’ dangerously broad

    Number of comments: 1
    Much has been made of a new report from the Department of Homeland Security concerning the rise of right-wing extremism. I have no doubt that right-wing hate groups are on the rise. Recent reports from the Southern Poverty Law Center tracking the creation and spread of these groups give credence to [...]
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    Posted: April 17, 2009, 8:31am EDT
    by Matt

  • Conservative ‘Tax Day Tea Party’ is disingenuous

    Number of comments: 4
    Americans across the country today will organize locally to produce “Tax Day Tea Parties” in cities large and small. On organizing website after website, conservative grassroots activists cry and gnash their teeth over the stimilus bill and other Congressional actions to get us out of our economic mess. They throw out [...]
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    Posted: April 15, 2009, 8:40am EDT
    by Matt

  • Fessing Up: exploring the ‘dirty little secrets’ of the gay community

    Number of comments: 9
    In the coming weeks, InterstateQ.com will publish a five-week, in-depth commentary series, “Fessing Up: exploring the ‘dirty little secrets’ of the gay community.” The purpose of the series, written by me and other contributors, will be to open community discussion with frank and honest thoughts and debate. Ignoring problems that exist [...]
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    Posted: April 14, 2009, 8:37am EDT
    by Matt

  • New Media: Moving small and regional LGBT news-media outlets forward

    It has been a year, this month, since my day job, Q-Notes newspaper, upgraded its website from a mis-matched collection of simple, static HTML pages to a fully automated content management system (CMS). In the year since, I’ve learned a lot about new media and how it complements and improves [...]
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    Posted: April 07, 2009, 8:29am EDT
    by Matt

  • 89-72

    Number of comments: 2
    Oh, don’t worry. Still not a sports person. Tar Heel pride is showing through tonight (and the boys are cute). So wishing I were on Franklin Street right now. [...]
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    Posted: April 06, 2009, 11:51pm EDT
    by Matt

  • InterstateQ has changed…

    Number of comments: 3
    Notice something different? Yeah, well… InterstateQ has changed; as if that weren’t obvious enough. This change will be more than just a redesign, though. Gone are the days of multiple posts each day (unless I’m feeling generous). As my life gets more and more busy and hectic and as I pick [...]
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    Posted: April 04, 2009, 5:08pm EDT
    by Matt

  • I’m finally an adult… and it sucks

    Number of comments: 2
    I sat down to do my taxes last night (not finished yet) and realized that I’ve finally reached the point where (a) I can’t deduct as much because I wasn’t in school and have no dependents, and (b) the days of getting back everything I paid to the feds is [...]
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    Posted: April 03, 2009, 8:07am EDT
    by Matt

  • Special rights: We’ve finally got them

    After all the rantings and ravings of the religious right and their fear of “homosexual special rights,” us queer folks finally have them: For a limited time, Travelocity is offering LGBT travelers an additional $150 off its already discounted 5-night or longer flight and hotel vacation packages to major cities in [...]
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    Posted: April 03, 2009, 7:29am EDT
    by Matt

  • Creating change through film

    LGBT filmmaker Debra Chasnoff speaks with The Windy City Times: We asked who they most admire, and a lot are saying they admire the transgender student at the end of the film. I was in North Carolina at a screening and I sat behind three male, teenage students. The film started [...]
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    Posted: April 03, 2009, 7:26am EDT
    by Matt

  • Ted Haggard: Broke and crazy as hell

    Number of comments: 2
    I don’t know how many times Ted Haggard has to do something so insane. He just keeps pushing the envelope to new extremes. He and his wife will be the subject of a two-art episode of “Divorce Court” the first two days of April (h/t PageOneQ): Disgraced American pastor Ted Haggard [...]
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    Posted: March 25, 2009, 11:00am EDT
    by Matt

  • Two-day agenda

    The next two days will prove to be very busy, indeed. I’m headed to Raleigh today to hunt down some gay-owned business and retail owners for an upcoming article. I’ll break away this evening for some drinks with old college friends. Tomorrow is EqualityNC’s Day of Action at the N.C. Legislature. [...]
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    Posted: March 23, 2009, 8:41am EDT
    by Matt

  • AFA and OneNewsNow contradicting itself?

    Number of comments: 2
    On March 15, the radically anti-gay American Family Association-backed OneNewsNow.com reports that abstinence-only education is working (past post): “The teen pregnancy rate has dropped by a third since abstinence education was started,” he points out, “and the teen abortion rate has been cut in half.” Seven days later, it isn’t working as [...]
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    Posted: March 22, 2009, 3:51pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Blasts from my past: Winston-Salem, R.J. Reynolds & HRC

    The March 21 print issue of Q-Notes‘ feature piece is “Stamp of Approval.” A researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is calling into question the perfect 100 rating of Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American, Inc. (corporate parent of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company) in the Human Right’s Campaign’s [...]
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    Posted: March 21, 2009, 10:45am EDT
    by Matt

  • On N.C. sex ed, AFA-run ‘news’ site sheep break with the flock

    Number of comments: 1
    All is not calm on the American Family Association front. Their “news” website, OneNewsNow.com, published a “story” (read: horrible piece of journalism) on the issue of comprehensive or abstinence-only sex education in North Carolina. While the writer, Charlie Butts, gives plenty of speaking time for the N.C. Policy Research Council’s Jere [...]
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    Posted: March 19, 2009, 10:03am EDT
    by Matt

  • All the cool movies debut no where near me…

    Number of comments: 2
    Check it out… www.thenewtwentymovie.com [...]
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    Posted: March 18, 2009, 9:00am EDT
    by Matt

  • A wrong righted: U.S. to sign U.N. gay declaration

    Number of comments: 1
    The Associated Press reports that the U.S. will sign on to a U.N. declaration on the decriminalization of homosexuality. Officials have notified the French sponsors of the intent to sign on. George Bush had refused to sign the statement, leaving the U.S. as the only Western nation refusing to do [...]
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    Posted: March 18, 2009, 8:52am EDT
    by Matt

  • D.C.’s HIV blame game

    Two D.C. bloggers are battling it out over the new HIV number released for Washington, D.C. Three percent of the total population there is now living with HIV. Black Informant says the cause is risky sexual behavior among the gay and lesbian community. The Washington City Paper’s Sexist blogger says the [...]
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    Posted: March 18, 2009, 8:37am EDT
    by Matt

  • N.C. Christian Action league foaming at the mouth over proposed youth bills

    Number of comments: 2
    The radically conservative Christian Action League continues to foam at the mouth, lying through their teeth in order to scare the jeepers out of their blind followers. In a “news” piece on their website, the League claims that the North Carolina School Violence Prevention Act (a.k.a. “the anti-bullying bill”) will require [...]
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    Posted: March 16, 2009, 8:45am EDT
    by Matt

  • Not all newspapers going bust

    NPR’s “On the Media” interviewed the editor of El Diario La Prensa, a New York City-based Hispanic and Latino community newspaper. It seems not all papers are going under. Editor Alberto Vourvoulias says his paper has been among the fastest growing newspapers in the past two of three years. A lot of [...]
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    Posted: March 15, 2009, 4:35pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Update: PlanetOut likely to lose NASDAQ listing

    Number of comments: 4
    A couple days ago I posted about a press release on PlanetOut and their NASDAQ compliance note. Another press release was issued yesterday, confirming doubts about the only LGBT-oriented, publicly-traded company’s future on the stock market: PlanetOut Inc. Receives Notice From Nasdaq Regarding Non-Compliance With Minimum Stockholders’ Equity Requirement (link) SAN FRANCISCO, [...]
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    Posted: March 14, 2009, 12:14pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Local N.C. paper cuts daily editions

    Number of comments: 1
    The Independent Tribune in Concord, N.C. — home to the famed Lowes (Charlotte) Motor Speedway –  is scaling back from daily publication. They’ll now print three times a week in a hyper-local format: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The change will take place on April 22. From MeckDeck: In effect, the Independent Tribune [...]
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    Posted: March 13, 2009, 8:13am EDT
    by Matt

  • I’m pretty sure Raleigh is North Carolina

    Number of comments: 2
    Someone at McClatchy skipped out on 8th grade geography. Pay attention to headline, then the dateline… [...]
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    Posted: March 13, 2009, 7:52am EDT
    by Matt

  • Betting his videos become collectibles…

    Number of comments: 2
    Harlow Cuadra, a 27-year-old gay porn star, was found guilty today of all 12 counts against him, including first-degree murder: Former escort/porn-producer Harlow Cuadra was found guilty of the first-degree murder of [...] [...]
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    Posted: March 12, 2009, 7:42pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Same-Sex Kiss Day: One question they forgot…

    Number of comments: 7
    A grassroots group is encouraging a “Same-Sex Kiss Day” at Starbucks. The idea: LGBT couples show up at a Starbucks on April 15, 2009 (aka Tax Day), order a coffee or other luxury item, and kiss as a way to raise awareness on the unequal tax status of unmarried same-sex [...]
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    Posted: March 12, 2009, 8:53am EDT
    by Matt

  • Kutcher: Calling someone ‘gay,’ ‘fag’ as bad as ‘n-word’

    Number of comments: 2
    The Southern Voice reports: Actor Ashton Kutcher took to Twitter this afternoon to tweet his disgust at people who use “gay” and “fag” as insults. In typical Twitter style, where capitalization and punctuation are optional, Kutcher wrote: “can we just get clear, calling some one ‘gay’ or ‘fag’ is as derogatory as [...]
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    Posted: March 11, 2009, 8:29pm EDT
    by Matt

  • More NASDAQ doubt for PlanetOut?

    Number of comments: 1
    According to a press release sent out today by PlanetOut, Inc., it looks as though the company continues to face a doubtful future that might include getting the boot from NASDAQ: PlanetOut Inc. (Nasdaq: LGBT), a leading media and entertainment company exclusively focused on the gay and lesbian market, announced today [...]
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    Posted: March 11, 2009, 7:44pm EDT
    by Matt

  • DOMA challenge raises important constitutional questions

    Number of comments: 3
    Although it is no secret that I’m a bit displeased with the timing of this DOMA challange in Mass., the suit itself raises some important constitutional issues. Slate chooses to call it “state sovereignty;” that DOMA is unconstitutional because it infringes on states’ rights, namely, the right to decide marriage [...]
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    Posted: March 10, 2009, 8:51am EDT
    by Matt

  • Sherman speaks from the grave: ‘The best prophet of the future is the past’

    Number of comments: 1
    A discussion relevent to today’s economic mess? I approach the discussion of this bill and the kindred bills and amendments pending in the two Houses with unaffected diffidence. No problem is submitted to us of equal importance and difficulty. Our action will affect the value of all the property of the [...]
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    Posted: March 10, 2009, 8:34am EDT
    by Matt

  • Gay leader: NC rep’s don’t have anything better to do with their time?

    Number of comments: 1
    Equality North Carolina Executive Director Ian Palmquist blasts N.C. state Rep. Paul “Skip” Stam for taking too much time to worry about marriage when there are so many other pressing issues on the table: The 2009 legislative session has just begun and our state faces huge challenges: rising unemployment, a growing [...]
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    Posted: March 09, 2009, 6:02pm EDT
    by Matt

  • Charlotte ranks #2 in manliest city ’study’

    Number of comments: 1
    Mars, Inc. and COMBOS snack foods released a so-called “study” (read: p.r. stunt) revealing a list of the “manliest” cities in America. Nashville ranked in the top spot, with Charlotte following in the number two spot. I’m a little confused as to how “The Queen City” can rank number two in [...]
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    Posted: March 09, 2009, 5:56pm EDT
    by Matt

  • re: DOMA: My guest opinion in Bay Windows

    Number of comments: 5
    Below is a guest commentary I wrote and submitted to Bay Windows this week, regarding Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders’ (GLAD) challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act filed on Tuesday. I previously wrote on this subject at Q-Notes‘ blog, assembloge. Guest Opinion DOMA challenge comes at bad time by Matt [...]
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    Posted: March 05, 2009, 7:41pm EST
    by Matt

  • Vacation: Suggestions?

    Number of comments: 7
    Once things get warmer this spring, I’m skipping work, totally ignoring the world around me and escaping for a week-long vacation. Any good suggestions? Couches and guest bedrooms appreciated. [...]
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    Posted: February 28, 2009, 11:27am EST
    by Matt

  • James Dobson leaves Focus on the Family

    Number of comments: 1
    THANK GOD! Perhaps now Focus on the Family will become as toothless, ballsless and as silent as Liberty U. after Falwell died. More from the AP Statement published by Truth Wins Out’s Wayne Besen: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 Contact: Wayne Besen Phone: 917-691-5118 E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org TWO Comments On James Dobson Resigning As Focus on the Family [...]
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    Posted: February 27, 2009, 3:57pm EST
    by Matt

  • D.C. House vote bill is unconstitutional?

    Number of comments: 7
    I feel for D.C. residents. Really, I do. It is a shame that in our Republic the citizens of its capital city are not represented in its legislative bodies. This week, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that would give one vote in the U.S. House to the representative of the [...]
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    Posted: February 27, 2009, 8:09am EST
    by Matt

  • Bye, bye Saturn

    GM is going to deal a final, deathly blow to its Saturn brand, it seems: Starved from within, Saturn’s sales peaked in 1995, dwindling despite a decade of bubble-driven auto sales. The company, raking in cash from seemingly endless SUV sales, didn’t worry about a quirky brand known for its small [...]
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    Posted: February 26, 2009, 10:21am EST
    by Matt

  • Carolinas Black Pride presents ‘Before It Hits Home’

    www.q-notes.com/multimedia/ [...]
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    Posted: February 26, 2009, 8:13am EST
    by Matt

  • On the need for stronger HIV/AIDS prevention

    A young journalist from Britain writes that the LGBT community needs a stronger and more effective HIV/AIDS prevention program: Craig’s story brings home the reality of barebacking – a reality missed by the glossy HIV prevention adverts and messages aimed at my generation of gay men (I’m 23). Those responsible for [...]
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    Posted: February 26, 2009, 8:11am EST
    by Matt

  • Local organizing, ex-gay protests, HRC

    Number of comments: 1
    You might be asking, “Where the hell is Matt? He hasn’t made a post in, like, forever.” My little gay butt has been working overtime the past two weeks as the whole of the gay world (or, at least, a good portion of it) descended on Charlotte at exactly the same [...]
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    Posted: February 23, 2009, 8:09am EST
    by Matt

  • Truth Wins Out joins N.C. gay groups to challenge infamous ‘Ex-Gay’ Road Show

    Take a gander at the press release below, then head over to www.truthwinsout.org and, for more details on events visit www.rainbowaction.org/events/. TWO Joins Coalition of North Carolina Organizations to Counter Infamous ‘Ex-Gay’ Road Show New Landmark Publication, ‘Ex-Gay & The Law’, To Be Unveiled At Friday Press Conference Truth Wins Out (TWO) announced [...]
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    Posted: February 18, 2009, 3:09pm EST
    by Matt

  • NC: Rowan County board approves anti-gay marriage resolution

    Read more at Q-Notes Online [...]
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    Posted: February 17, 2009, 9:38am EST
    by Matt

  • Some Okla. rep’s forget their Sunday School lessons

    The Dallas Voice blog points out that the Rev. Scott Jones (pictured right) was invited to give the opening prayer for the Oklahoma State House of Representatives. Jones originally reported the story at his blog, including the fact that at the end of the day, a Republican objected to including [...]
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    Posted: February 12, 2009, 8:10am EST
    by Matt

  • Anti-gay marriage forces set sights on NC

    Number of comments: 2
    I knew it wouldn’t be long. North Carolina’s the only Southern state without an anti-gay, anti-family constitutional amendment on marriage. We’re a sitting duck; a big glaring hole in the religious right’s sea of hate and control… Just as in the image to the right, from the NC4Marriage website (PDF). The [...]
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    Posted: February 10, 2009, 7:56am EST
    by Matt
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