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Charlotte has received a lot of negative publicity based on the actions of the Mecklenburg County Commissioners and a few other narrow minded members of the community. Six years ago the commission adopted a series of resolutions aimed primarily at the gay community. The five commissioners that voted for the resolutions make no bones about being anti-gay, with one of them going so far as to state that gays should be "pushed off the face of the earth."
The actions of these bigots should not be taken as a sign of how the community as a whole feels about gays though. While the gay community here is not as open as in Washington, San Francisco, or even Atlanta, by and large most people are willing to live and let live. Charlotte hosted a large gay arts festival for several years, and we have recently launched a Pride celebration that takes place in the spring. This past year saw the opening of our first LGBT Community Center, which is already hosting a wide variety of events for the community There is a long way to go, but we are making progress.
In the end, the commission's votes may have been good for us. The gay community as well as the public at large are starting to see our opponents in the same light as one views the school yard bully. They are also begining to see how the budget cuts to the arts that were made affect not only gays but everyone. All of the commissioners were up for re-election the next year, and one of the five was eliminated in his party's primary. Another attempted to run as an independent and couldn't get the signatures required to get on the ballot. In the end, only one of the original 5 was re-elected. Their replacements are all on the record as disagreeing with the previous commissions views on homosexuality, so for once we appear to have public officials that are at least sympathetic to us.
Charlotte and North Carolina Links
Gay Charlotte This is the best place to start for information on the gay community. There is a calendar, links to most local organizations and gay friendly businesses, and news affecting the community
The Charlotte Observer Online is the online service offered by the city's daily paper. In addition to offering standard web access, The Observer maintains a large web prescence, with lots of links and information online. They also have the last ten years of news articles online, but your ability to use them is limited if you're not signed up for their service.
Charlotte Pride Features information about past and upcoming Pride celebrations.
Justin's Pride Page Another very well done page with links of interest to gay Tarheels.
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