CRANE
Today: Rally on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
Published February 26, 2010 | 
CRANE and the Human Rights Campaign will stage a rally and awareness event on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and kick-off CRANE’s March on Myrick campaign.
PRESS CONFERENCE & RALLY DETAILS:
WHAT: Press conference, rally on repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”; “March on Myrick” kick-off
WHEN: Friday, February 26, 2010, 4:30 p.m. (Rally immediately following)
WHERE: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 3rd & Davidson Sts., Charlotte, NC 28202
WHO: Press conference to feature remarks from:
– Eric Alva, a former Marine Staff Sgt. veteran who was the first U.S. soldier wounded in the Iraq war and is now an HRC spokesperson on DADT
– Michael Noftzger, a former Army Specialist veteran who served under DADT
– Lacey Williams, a local CRANE organizer and grassroots activist
– Randy Floyd, a local CRANE organizer and the political co-chair for HRC Carolinas Steering Committee
Charlotte Observer: Gay-rights group targets Myrick
Published February 26, 2010 | The Charlotte Observer‘s Washington correspondent, Barb Barrett, reports this morning on today’s rally and March on Myrick campaign kick-off:
Gay-rights group targets Myrick
By Barbara Barrett
Washington correspondent
Friday, Feb. 26, 2010
WASHINGTON A Charlotte gay-rights group will ask U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., today to join their fight to repeal the nation’s don’t ask, don’t tell policy, which bans gays from serving openly in the military.
Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality, or CRANE, plans to rally this afternoon on the measure, launching their March for Myrick campaign in the process.
In the next month, supporters hope to gather 13,500 plastic toy soldiers to deliver to Myrick’s office at the end of March. The soldiers represent the estimated 13,500 troops kicked out of the military for being gay since the policy took effect in 1993, said Matt Comer, a Charlotte resident and organizer of the group.
Congress.org: Activists pressure lawmaker on DADT
Published February 23, 2010 | CRANE received its first press clipping for our “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” efforts in Charlotte today. Partnering with the Human Rights Campaign, CRANE will stage a rally and local awareness event on the anti-gay military policy on Friday where we will kick-off our “March on Myrick” campaign.
Activists pressure lawmaker on DADT
Local group asks Republican to cosponsor gay rights bill.
by Ambreen Ali, Congress.orgA North Carolina group is stepping into the national debate on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE) is launching the “March on Myrick” campaign this week to get Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) behind repealing the military’s policy on gay soldiers. The move comes as prominent military leaders, including Admiral Mike Mullen, have said they favor a change.
CRANE, Human Rights Campaign to stage rally on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal
Published February 23, 2010 | Want to attend? Learn more: Get the details, the facts and RSVP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 23, 2010
MEDIA ADVISORY:
CRANE, Human Rights Campaign to stage rally, awareness event on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal
Gay veterans, community members to address importance of repeal; kick-off CRANE’s ‘March on Myrick’ campaign
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Feb. 26, 2010 – Grassroots activists with Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE) and the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, will hold a press conference and rally, Friday, Feb. 26, at 4:30 p.m., on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), the discriminatory law which bans openly gay, lesbian and bisexual service members in the U.S. military.
Community members and gay veterans will speak on the issue at a press conference preceding the rally and kick-off CRANE’s “March on Myrick” campaign to raise local awareness on the issue and ask U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick (NC-9) to support the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, a bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” currently under debate in the U.S. House.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – the law prohibiting lesbians and gays from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Forces – is a failed law. Military leaders, including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, recognize that DADT is failed law and support its repeal.
Americans recognize that on the battlefield, it does not matter whether a soldier is lesbian, gay or straight; what matters is that a soldier gets the job done. This discriminatory law hurts military readiness and national security while putting American soldiers fighting overseas at risk.
The vast majority of Americans – including majorities of Republicans, Independents and Democrats – support repealing DADT.
Since the implementation of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 1994, more than 13,500 men and women have been dismissed from the military because of the sexual orientation, including 60 Arabic linguists and nearly 800 other service members in critical occupations fields.
PRESS CONFERENCE & RALLY DETAILS:
WHAT: Press conference, rally on repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”; “March on Myrick” kick-off
WHEN: Friday, February 26, 2010, 4:30 p.m. (Rally immediately following)
WHERE: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 3rd & Davidson Sts., Charlotte, NC 28202
WHO: Press conference to feature remarks from:
– Eric Alva, a former Marine Staff Sgt. veteran who was the first U.S. soldier wounded in the Iraq war and is now an HRC spokesperson on DADT
– Michael Noftzger, a former Army Specialist veteran who served under DADT
– Lacey Williams, a local CRANE organizer and grassroots activist
– Randy Floyd, a local CRANE organizer and the political co-chair for HRC Carolinas Steering Committee
For more information on CRANE, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the March on Myrick campaign, visit: www.rainbowaction.org
HRC recently announced a national campaign to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” to learn more visit: www.hrc.org/VoicesOfHonor.
The Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE) is a grassroots coalition of activists and community members working toward civil and social equality for Charlotte’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
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CRANE organizers on WBT’s Keith Larson Show
Published February 17, 2010 | 
Don’t miss CRANE organizers Lacey Williams and Matt Comer on today’s Keith Larson Show, shortly after 10 a.m.
Catch it on WBT News-Talk 1110 AM or listen live online.
Yesterday, Lacey and CRANE organizer Laura Maschal presented anti-gay Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James with a Valentine’s Day card from the gay community. The message was simple enough: “Gay is OK.”
“We’d like to present Commissioner James with a Valentine’s card from the gay and gay-friendly community in Charlotte with the hope that with loving support, and maybe some tough love, he can turn his attitudes around in 2010,” Laura said in our press release yesterday morning. “We’ll keep on checking in with him throughout the year to make sure he stops using anti-gay slurs and begins to open his eyes to the power of love in our community.”
See our media advisory for more of the details and listen to Laura’s interview with WFAE yesterday.
Posted in Media & Press | 
Bill James, Charlotte, Keith Larson, Mecklenburg County, WBT | 
Leave a commentAdvisory: Gay community members tell anti-gay Bill James, ‘We love you’
Published February 16, 2010 | 
MEDIA ADVISORY
February 16, 2010
Gay community members to Bill James: We love you
Grassroots activist to present anti-gay commissioner with Valentine’s present
CHARLOTTE — Feb. 16, 2010 — Grassroots activists with Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE) will present conservative, anti-gay Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James a special Valentine’s card at the County Commissioners meeting. Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community were at the receiving end of James’ anti-gay comments and slurs in December.
On Tuesday, CRANE organizers Laura Maschal and Lacey Williams hope James will open up and reconsider his stances on LGBT equality. Maschal’s and Williams’ Valentine’s card will contain signatures and thoughts from local LGBT community members.
“We’d like to present Commissioner James with a Valentine’s card from the gay and gay-friendly community in Charlotte with the hope that with loving support, and maybe some tough love, he can turn his attitudes around in 2010,” Maschal says. “We’ll keep on checking in with him throughout the year to make sure he stops using anti-gay slurs and begins to open his eyes to the power of love in our community.”
At the County Commissioners meeting on Dec. 15, 2009, during debate on proposed domestic partner benefits for LGBT city employees and their partners, James leaned over to fellow Commissioner Vilma Leake and said, “Your son was a homo, really?” His comments in response to Leake’s emotional story of her son and his death were outrageous and inappropriate, yet James offered no apology. In fact, he continued to make outrageous statements to local media outlets in the days following the meeting. James’ latest comments are but a few in a long history of abusive rhetoric directed at LGBT citizens and residents in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.
The Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE), www.rainbowaction.org, is a grassroots coalition of activists and community members working toward civil and social equality for Charlotte’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community.
More detailed information on CRANE and its list of upcoming events, including a public demonstration on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” can be found online at www.rainbowaction.org.
Friday’s rally and march was a blast!
Published May 31, 2009 | Thanks to all of the close to 100 folks who showed up to our rally, began our march or joined our march as we walked through Uptown on Friday evening.
Our message was simple: We want equality, and we want it now!
We collected 185 signatures — yes, you heard right, 185 signatures in only a couple hours — for our simple petition to the Charlotte City Council: Please support the equal marriage resolution. The resolution will be presented at the City Council’s Citizens’ Forum meeting on Monday, June 1. Read the whole resolution here. Click here to download a petition and help us gather signatures. Bring the petition with you on Monday, meet us in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center lobby at 7 p.m., and wear something red to show your support as we attend the meeting as citizens and constituents.
Thanks to Creative Loafing‘s Cheris Hodges for the shout out on the CL blog, the CLog, on Friday morning, and to Fox Charlotte’s for showing up to cover the event on Friday evening.
Note: A correction to our past notices and press releases… the resolution has not yet been passed by the City Council of Durham. They are still considering it. Chapel Hill and Carrboro have passed the resolution, though, and Charlotte could be next!
Advisory: Grassroots group holds rally, march
Published May 29, 2009 | MEDIA ADVISORY
May 29, 2009
Contact:
Matt Comer, 336-391-9528, matt.hill.comer@gmail.com
Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE), www.rainbowaction.org
Gay grassroots group holds rally, march in wake of California Prop. 8 Supreme Court decision
Group will attend June 1 City Council Citizens’ Forum in support of pro-gay resolution
CHARLOTTE – The Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE) will hold a Friday rally at Marshall Park and march through Uptown to the Government Center, to raise awareness on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) equality issues. The event is a direct response to the May 26, 2009, California Supreme Court ruling upholding the anti-gay Proposition 8. The rally and march will feature several local speakers, including a lesbian couple married in California prior to Proposition 8’s passage in November.
During the Friday event, CRANE will urge supporters to sign a petition in support of a resolution to be presented at the June 1, 2009 City Council Citizens’ Forum. The resolution asks Charlotte leaders to go on record supporting the right of same-sex couples to enter into legally-recognized, civil marriages. Similar resolutions have already been approved by the Chapel Hill and Carrboro Town Councils.
CRANE members will be present to show their support of the resolution at the Citizens’ Forum. Supporters will wear red shirts or other articles of clothing to signify their support. The full text of the proposed resolution can be read at www.rainbowaction.org/taking-a-stand-bringing-it-home/
FRIDAY RALLY & MARCH SCHEDULE
5:30 p.m. — Rally at Marshall Park. Speakers include CRANE members, local LGBTQI and straight ally leaders.
6:15 p.m. — March through Uptown. Route: West on 3rd St. from Marshall Park, North on Tryon St., West on Trade St., South on Davidson St., ending at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center at 600 E. 4th St.
After march — Rally and picket at Government Center and plaza (4th St. side). Includes speakers.
The Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE), www.rainbowaction.org, is a grassroots coalition of activists and community members working toward civil and social equality for Charlotte’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community. In the past, members of the group were responsible for organizing the highly successful and visible Nov. 15, 2008 post-Prop. 8 protest and a series of events countering the anti-gay, ex-gay Exodus International, Love Won Out conference in February 2009.
CORRECTION: Durham has not passed a resolution similar to that already passed by Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The City of Durham is still considering the resolution.
Petition: Support Marriage Equality
Published May 28, 2009 | On Monday, June 1, Josh Weaver will present a resolution in support of marriage equality to the Charlotte City Council. CRANE will be in attendance to support the resolution. Thursday-Monday, we are asking people to download this petition and get your friends, family and colleagues to sign it. Bring it with you to the Citizens’ Forum on Monday. Meet us in the lobby of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center and we’ll all attend the meeting together.
More on our events: www.rainbowaction.org/events/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111296235790
Taking a stand, bringing it home
Published May 28, 2009 | CRANE is organizing a non-violent protest rally and march on Friday, May 29. Join us in Marshall Park for speakers about Marriage Equality and join us as we march through Uptown to the Government Center.
On Monday, join us at the Charlotte City Council Citizens’ Forum, as a resolution in support of Marriage Equality is presented.
Visit our events page for more.
Join our announcements email list here.
The following resolution will be presented Monday at the Charlotte City Council Citizens’ Forum:
A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF CIVIL MARRIAGE FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES
WHEREAS, The Election Day victories by anti-gay activists in California, Florida, Arizona and Arkansas were a painful reminder that the gay rights movement still faces many challenges; and
WHEREAS, discriminatory marriage laws in the United States deprive same-sex couples of over 1000 federal rights and benefits automatically bestowed by civil marriage including, among others, health care coverage, tax benefits, divorce, domestic violence protections, privileges under immigration and naturalization law, inheritance rights, survivor benefits and child custody; and
WHEREAS, the denial of such benefits has been demonstrated to have significant psychological and social impact on the physical, social, and economic well-being of gay and lesbian couples and their families; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court recognizes marriage as one of the “‘basic civil rights of man’ fundamental to our very existence and survival” and “one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men”; and
WHEREAS, heterosexual relationships have a legal framework for their existence through civil marriage, which provides a stabilizing force. In the United States, with the notable exceptions of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine and Vermont same-sex couples are currently denied the important legal benefits, rights and responsibilities of civil marriage. Same-sex couples therefore experience several kinds of state sanctioned discrimination that can adversely affect the stability of their relationships and their mental health; and’
WHEREAS, the love that brings and binds two people of the same, or opposite sex, together transcends gender; and
WHEREAS, as Americans, we must remember a foundational principle of our form of government: all are created equal. Consistent with the pursuit of liberty and justice for all, same-sex couples should have full and equal access to the rights and responsibilities bestowed by civil marriage; and
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that civil marriage for same-sex couples must include all the benefits commonly bestowed upon opposite-sex couples, including, among other rights, healthcare coverage and related decision-making, privileges under immigration and naturalization law, survivor benefits, inheritance rights, and child custody.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Charlotte, North Carolina City Council, endorse and support the rights of same-sex couples to share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities and commitments of civil marriage.