The Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE) is back.

Despite radical attempts to ignore our existence, now is the time for LGBTQI people to stand up.

On Thursday, May 17 2012 — a little over one week after our community’s historic loss on May 8 — CRANE stepped up to provide a visible presence of our community’s sadness, anger and frustration. We turned our feelings of loss into a time to act. As night turned to day, thousands of people driving into Uptown Charlotte on Independence Blvd. saw our message for equality.

We are re-energizing, re-mobilizing and re-engaging to bring voice in solidarity and action in pride to create full civil and social equality for Charlotte’s and North Carolina’s LGBTQI community.

Charlotte has long lacked a strong, well-organized and well-connected grassroots activism community that engages in direct action and protest. In the past, CRANE has helped to fill that void, but we’ve left that gap unbridged for far too long.

No more.

If May 8 and the passage of Amendment One has taught us anything, it’s that we can never keep silent, we can never sit down and we can never shut up. Amendment One is not the end of this fight. LGBTQI people can be fired, kicked out of their homes, denied public services and discriminated against in public accommodations.

Our collective muscle — the feet on the streets, the voices in the town square, the lobbying in city hall — can make a difference. As Charlotte’s local political advocacy group, MeckPAC, recently said, “We’ve lost one battle, but we’re not losing any more.”

Together with the work of other community organizations, CRANE will step up and bring loud and consistent LGBTQI voices for equality back to Charlotte’s streets and neighborhoods.

As we move forward, we welcome your ideas, suggestions and input. We want you to be involved in our planning and decision making. We want to see and feel your presence.

Stay tuned for more updates by subscribing to our announcements-only Google Group via the subscription box to the right or click here to join the Google Group. If you’re interested in becoming a part of our planning team, contact us and we’ll fill you in on the details of our future planning meetings.

On Thursday morning before rush hour, activists will install protest art speaking out against Amendment One. The art will be visible to motorists from the inbound lanes of one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. As the morning commute picks up at 7 a.m., the activists will be present the Hawthorne Ln. bridge over Independence Blvd. where they will stand the overpass’ sidewalk with a banner reading “EQUALITY WILL PREVAIL!”

The May 17 action is the first of several small- and large-scale direct actions and other initiatives meant to raise awareness and agitate toward positive, LGBTQI-inclusive change in Charlotte and North Carolina.

Citizens are encouraged to join CRANE at 7 a.m. at the Hawthorne Ln. bridge and bring American flags, North Carolina flags and rainbow flags.

WHAT: Protest Art & Banner

WHEN: Thursday, May 17, 2012, activists present with banner at 7 a.m.

WHERE: Hawthorne Ln. bridge over Independence Blvd., Charlotte, NC

WHO: Organizers with Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE)

ABOUT CRANE: CRANE is an informal network and coalition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) activists and community members in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. The group’s past actions since 2008 include several protests, rallies and forums, and its signature actions on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2010 in which the activists collected and delivered five complete sets of 13,500 plastic toy soldiers – each representing one service member dismissed under the anti-gay policy – to U.S. Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan and U.S. Reps. Sue Myrick, Mike McIntyre and Larry Kissell. Learn more about the group at rainbowaction.org.

Video below…

Click here to view the video at Fox Charlotte’s website.

Be sure to read CRANE’s May 28 statement on the House and Senate actions.

The Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE) commends the efforts of those elected officials who supported the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), including Sen. Kay Hagan and Rep. Larry Kissell, both of whom were targets of CRANE’s Stand with Honor campaign this spring and who voted “yes” to the repeal measure on Thursday, May 27, 2010.

Through March and April, CRANE, along with activists, community members and constituents across the state, launched several grassroots campaigns to engage local communities and elected officials on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the anti-gay law that prohibits open and honest military service by lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans and has resulted in the discharge of over 13,500 patriots willing and able to serve our nation and protect its security.

The campaigns collected five sets of 13,500 plastic toy soldiers — each soldier representing one of the lesbian, gay and bisexual servicemembers discharged under DADT — for delivery to Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan and Reps. Sue Myrick, Mike McIntyre and Larry Kissell.

CRANE extends its gratitude to Sen. Hagan and for showing her continued public support of a DADT repeal by voting “yes” on the measure. Rep. Kissell, who had not publicly spoken about his thoughts on repeal, was receptive to CRANE’s campaign throughout its communication with his office. We thank him for his affirmative vote.

CRANE is disappointed that our efforts, representative of hundreds of constituents, failed to strike a chord with Reps. Myrick and McIntyre and Sen. Burr, all of whom voted against repeal. We urge them to reconsider their stances on LGBT civil equality and remind them that only a fool would stand in the way of our national security and military readiness during a time of war. We hope they will join us and their colleagues on the right side of history on other issues of basic equality and fairness.

Matt Comer, Randy Floyd and Lacey Williams of CRANE were joined by fellow organizers Ryan Burris, James Elks and Melissa Siegel.

Since March, CRANE and activists across the state have worked to build awareness on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) through Charlotte’s March on Myrick, Raleigh’s Stand with Honor and Wilmington’s March on McIntyre campaigns. The goal: Collect 13,500 plastic toy soldiers — each representing a gay or lesbian patriot discharged under DADT — and deliver them as a stark, visual reminder of the cost of DADT to our elected officials.

At a bright, and early start of 8 a.m., we made our way from their hotel to downtown Washington, D.C. and the Capitol Building. There, we set up our display of just one set of 13,500 soldiers we’ve collected for Burr, Hagan, Kissell, McIntyre and Myrick. We spoke with passers-by about DADT, many who already supported repeal and others who did not. In one exchange, Matt Comer spoke with a group of Christian high school students whose adult chaperone believed “homosexuals shouldn’t serve at all.” Asking how it is right, just or fair to force a person to live in fear and lies, the Christian chaperone responded: “There is no fear in the Lord.” Convincing the adult chaperone of the value of a DADT repeal was fruitless but standing on Capitol Hill grounds speaking to these Christian young folks was well worth it: If they haven’t engaged LGBT issues with LGBT people, they have now. And, if there were one or two closeted LGBT youth there, our group was there to say: “You are not alone.”

As we met with the offices of our elected officials, we were able to deliver a portion — one-tenth of the 13,500 to be exact — to our two senators and two representatives. (Half of Myrick’s 13,500 were delivered on April 1.) Each of the offices we visited responded with either surprise or interest to our 1,350 soldiers. It made an impact — a constituent message unlike the many postcards, emails and letters they receive on a daily basis and one they won’t forget anytime soon… especially when the rest of their soldiers can be delivered at a later date.

Here’s the recap from each office visit…

Richard Burr

Raleigh’s Melissa Siegel and Wilmington’s James Elks met with Republican Sen. Richard Burr’s Defense Legislative Fellow Vaughan Byrum and Military Legislative Fellow Kevin Kane. Although the meeting went reasonably well, Siegel reported the two staffers seemed quite confrontational, eager to defend DADT and uncomfortable with the thought of gay people serving openly and honestly. The staffers told Siegel and Elks that Burr would wait until after the Department of Defense’s study on DADT  to make his decision on repeal.

Mike McIntyre

Representing the Seventh District of North Carolina, Mike McIntyre is a conservative Democrat who has often taken on positions harmful to the LGBT community. Wilmington residents Ryan Burris and James Elks, along with Charlotte resident Matt Comer, met with Rep. Mike McIntyre, who said he would wait until after the Department of Defense study on DADT before making his decision. Elks shared his personal story regarding his attempts to join the military. McIntyre seemed genuinely interested. Regardless, McIntyre stands by the assertion he made when last meeting with Burris and Elks in Wilmington this February: If a DADT repeal came up for vote today, McIntyre would vote against it.

Kay Hagan

Constituents Ryan Burris, Matt Comer, Randy Floyd and Melissa Siegel met with Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan’s Legislative Assistant Julie Holzhueter. Hagan, who announced April 14 she firmly supports a repeal of DADT, has yet to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Senate’s Military Readiness Enhancement Act as introduced by Sen. Joe Leiberman on March 3. Constituents presented Holzheuter with the 1,350 soldiers and urged the staffer to relay our message to the senator: Please take leadership on this issue and sign on as a co-sponsor of the bill to repeal DADT.

Larry Kissell

Kissell constituents Randy Floyd and Lacey Williams — along with Matt Comer, who works in Kissell’s district — met with Legislative Assistant John Tripp. Floyd has previously met with Tripp and Rep. Kissell, a Democrat who represents the sprawling Eighth District including portions of Charlotte, Fayetteville and Ft. Bragg. In his previous meetings, Floyd had learned the congressman fully supported ending discrimination in the workplace (although he had yet to publicly support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act). Constituents urged Tripp to remind the congressman of his principles and stand by them on the issue of DADT. Tripp responded positively to our constituent message of 1,350 soldiers. Later in the day, constituents received good news regarding Kissell, although not on the issue of DADT. The congressman will finally support ENDA, although it isn’t clear whether he will be a co-sponsor.

Press coverage from the day

Congress.org: Activists push on Don’t Ask issue

The Georgia Voice: DADT pressure continues

Photos from the day

Contact: Matt Comer, 336-391-9528, matt.hill.comer@gmail.com

North Carolina constituents take ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ campaign to Capitol Hill

Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington residents visit with Burr, Hagan, Kissell and McIntyre

WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 28, 2010 – A group of North Carolina constituents and grassroots activists are taking their message to end the anti-gay “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) to Capitol Hill, and plan on meeting with Sens. Richard Burr (R) and Kay Hagan (D) and Reps. Larry Kissell (D-08) and Mike McIntyre (D-07).

A portion of a constituent message was rejected by Rep. Sue Myrick (R-09) on April 1, 2010.

In March, the Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE) began their “March on Myrick” campaign to collect 13,500 plastic toy soldiers, each representing one person discharged under DADT, and attempted to deliver the soldiers to Rep. Sue Myrick (R-09) on April 1, 2010. At Myrick’s Charlotte office, constituents were initially turned away and later allowed to deliver only half of their constituent message. At the time, building security said the constituents were “soliciting” and threatened arrest although no laws were being broken. Constituents plan to deliver the remaining soldiers at a later date. (See rainbowaction.org/myrick for more.)

Since then, the Charlotte DADT awareness campaign spread across the state to target North Carolina’s senators and other representatives key to a DADT repeal. The message sent by constituents is loud and clear: Only a fool would stand in the way of our national security and military readiness. The time to end DADT is now.

“In working to raise awareness on the much-needed repeal of DADT, we have spoken to and worked with hundreds of constituents,” said Matt Comer, CRANE spokesperson. “Those who helped us collect these 67,500 soldiers represent a sizable constituency who believe – like 75 percent of all Americans and 73 percent of U.S. servicemembers – that all people should be able to serve their country no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity. Sens. Burr and Hagan and Reps. Kissell and McIntyre – each serving in their respective chambers’ Armed Services committees – should immediately sign on as co-sponsors to a DADT repeal.”

The constituents will gather at the East Lawn of the Capitol (Independence Blvd. SE and First St. SE) on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There, they will display one set of 13,500 plastic soldiers from the 67,500 they’ve collected over the past two months and reach out to Capitol visitors and passers-by to engage them on the issues and raise awareness. Due to package restrictions at Capitol Hill office buildings, they will deliver only a portion of each set of soldiers collected for each elected official.

“Although we’ll only be delivering a portion of the 13,500 soldiers to each of our elected officials, they should know that their constituents want this law repealed and they want it repealed now,” said Comer. “Their constituents also expect their message to be delivered in full, unfortunately something we can’t do today. As with our March on Myrick campaign, we’ll deliver the remaining message at a later date.”

The U.S. military has discharged more than 13,500 gay and lesbian service members since DADT’s implementation in 1994, including more than 800 mission-critical troops. In the past five years, the military has discharged at least 59 Arabic and Farsi linguists. Further, our government has wasted between $250 million and $1.2 billion enforcing the law, critical funds that could have been used to support rather than undermine our military readiness. The facts point to only one conclusion: DADT is a threat to national security and must be repealed. Repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is just one step our elected leaders can take in their commitment to keep our nation strong and safe. We call on Burr, Hagan, Kissell, McIntyre and Myrick to co-sponsor the Military Readiness Enhancement Act today and support the repeal of this wasteful and damaging policy.

A coalition of constituent, activist and student organizations across North Carolina worked to raise awareness with constituents. They include: Blue Devils United (duke.edu/web/bdunited/), Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality/CRANE (rainbowaciton.org), Equal People Organization (equalpeople.org), HRC Carolinas (northcarolina.hrc.org), NoH8NC (noh8nc.com), N.C. State GLBT Center (ncsu.edu/student_affairs/glbt/), N.C. State GLBTCA and UNC-Chapel Hill GLBTSA (unc.edu/glbtsa/).

Contact: Matt Comer, 336-391-9528

Rep. Sue Myrick’s security attempts to stop constituent delivery of
13,500 plastic toy soldiers in protest of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
Myrick office staff accepts only a portion of constituent message;
Budd Group security employee calls constituent visit “soliciting”

A portion of the undelivered soldiers outside of Rep. Sue Myrick's Charlotte office.

CHARLOTTE — This morning, a group of six grassroots activists and constituents attempted to deliver packages of 13,500 plastic toy soldiers to the Charlotte office of U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick (R-09). Each of the 13,500 soldiers represent a gay or lesbian American patriot discharged from military service under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the 1993 federal law prohibiting openly gay or lesbian servicemembers. The delivery was the culmination of the March on Myrick Campaign, kicked off on Feb. 26, 2010, by the Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE).

However, the constituents were stopped by an employee of The Budd Group, a Winston-Salem, N.C.-based security and facility services firm. The employee, who opted not to give his name to CRANE organizers, said his conditions were the “rules of engagement.”

In attempting to stop the delivery of the constituent message, the Budd Group employee first insisted that organizers needed a permit or would face arrest by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Charlotte city ordinances only require a picketing permit if organizers anticipate 50 or more participants. After correcting the employee, CRANE organizers were told only one representative of the group would be allowed to visit with Rep. Myrick’s staff and would not be allowed to carry any of the soldiers into the building.

CRANE organizers called Myrick staff in an attempt to resolve the situation, but were again told by the Budd Group employee that they could not deliver the constituent message as it would be considered “solicitation.” CRANE organizers Lacey Williams and Randy Floyd argued such a rule would effectively make any constituent visitor to Rep. Myrick a potential “solicitor.”

After further discussion with Myrick staff, Williams and Floyd were allowed to deliver a letter and nearly half of the 13,500 soldiers. Building security did not allow media to enter the building or Myrick’s office.

A full list of the Budd Group employee’s and Myrick office staff’s attempts to stop this constituent visit is included at the end of this release.

CRANE organizers intend to see their campaign through and will deliver the remaining 7,500 plastic soldiers to Rep. Myrick at a later date.

CRANE organizer Matt Comer (left) speaking with Myrick office staff.

“CRANE intended for these 13,500 plastic soldiers — contained in nine, five-gallon camouflage buckets — to be a stark, visual reminder of the damage ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ causes our national security and military readiness,” said Matt Comer, CRANE organizer. “Despite her stated and strong support of American veterans and our men and women in uniform, Rep. Myrick’s staff and security first declined to recognize these American patriots at all and later accepted less than half of the 13,500 soldiers.”

Comer added, “As constituents, we are forced to beg the question: Does Rep. Myrick truly honor and respect the service of our American heroes, or does she intend to ignore the 13,500 gay and lesbian patriots who risked their lives to serve and protect our nation and whose only ‘reward’ was discharge and the involuntary end of their careers?”

The March on Myrick Campaign, created to engage community members and raise awareness on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” while asking for Rep. Myrick’s support of a repeal, has inspired grassroots activists across North Carolina. Activists in Raleigh are collecting a combined 27,000 — 13,500 each — for Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan. In Wilmington, 13,500 are being collected for Rep. Mike McIntyre. Charlotte activists have also collected an additional 13,500 for Rep. Larry Kissell.

These community members will converge on Washington, D.C., on April 28 and deliver the combined 54,000 to the Capitol Hill offices of Burr, Hagan, Kissell and McIntyre.

The U.S. military has discharged more than 13,500 gay and lesbian service members since DADT’s implementation in 1994, including more than 800 mission-critical troops. In the past five years, the military has discharged at least 59 Arabic and Farsi linguists. Further, our government has wasted between $250 million and $1.2 billion enforcing the law, critical funds that could have been used to support rather than undermine our military readiness. The facts point to only one conclusion: Only a fool would stand in the way of our national security and military readiness. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is a threat to both and must be repealed. Repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is just one step our elected leaders can take in their commitment to keep our nation strong and safe. We call on Burr, Hagan, Kissell, McIntyre and Myrick to co-sponsor the Military Readiness Enhancement Act today and support the repeal of this wasteful and damaging policy.

Attempts by The Budd Group to stop constituent visit:
1. Constituents must have a permit or face arrest before meeting with elected official or her staff.
2. No more than one person would be allowed to meet with their elected official, and would not be able to deliver the constituent message.
3. Constituents’ visit to elected official amounted to “solicitation,” which building managers do not allow.
4. Constituent message amounted to a security concern “in this day and age.”

Attempts by Myrick staff to stop constituent visit:
1. No part of the constituent message would be allowed in the office because the office was too small.
2. The constituent message might have been a gift, which the elected official cannot accept.
3. Only half of the message could be delivered because the office was too small (Office staff agreed that constituents could attempt delivery of the remaining message in Washington, D.C.)

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, transgender (LGBT) community.

Other organizations working to support the March on Myrick, Stand with Honor and March on McIntyre Campaigns include: Blue Devils United (duke.edu/web/bdunited/), Equal People Organization (equalpeople.org), HRC Carolinas (northcarolina.hrc.org), NoH8NC (noh8nc.com), N.C. State GLBT Center (ncsu.edu/student_affairs/glbt/), N.C. State GLBTCA and UNC-Chapel Hill GLBTSA (unc.edu/glbtsa/).

Raleigh contact: Kevin Eason, 919-961-0648 | Wilmington contact: Ryan Lee Burris, 910-262-7787

Other photos:

CRANE organizers Lacey Williams and Randy Floyd deliver 6,000 soldiers.

CRANE organizers Lacey Williams and Matt Comer discuss options regarding delivery of remaining 7,500 soldiers.

CRANE organizers Randy Floyd and Lacey Williams carry away undelivered portions of 13,500 toy soldiers in the March on Myrick Campaign.

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