|
By Gabriella Souza The Virginian-Pilot May 15, 2012 OUTER BANKS, N.C. The first thing David Miller did when he heard that Dare County hadvoted down Amendment 1 opposing gay marriage was head to Facebook. "There is no reason to boycott Dare County, NorthCarolina!" wrote Miller, who co-founded the nonprofit entitythat organizes the gay-pride event OBX Pridefest. "We are theprogressive, free-thinkers in this part of the state." Miller had particular reason to be worried about the publicity overAmendment 1, which changed the state's constitution to definemarriage solely as a union between a man and a woman. After itpassed overwhelmingly, receiving 61 percent of 2.1 million votes inNorth Carolina, Miller heard from visitors saying they were nolonger coming to his June event, to show opposition to the votingresults. "There was a very emotional, knee-jerk reaction from a lot offolks up North," he said. Former President Bill Clinton and Hollywood celebrities spoke outagainst the amendment, and President Barack Obama has since voicedhis support for gay marriage. In Buncombe County, which containsthe city of Asheville and where the amendment was rejected, policearrested eight people Friday during a sit-in at the county'sregister of deeds, and gay-marriage supporters announced plans tomarch in Raleigh on Monday night. Miller said he now thinks the publicity could help the 2-year-oldOBX Pridefest, with more visitors venturing to the Outer Banks toshow solidarity with the gay community. He's expecting 2,000 peopleto attend, up from 1,500 last year, partly because of the attentionthe amendment has attracted. The event will be held June 15-18. Voters in Dare County defeated the amendment by fewer than 100votes. In fact, because of a typographical error, the initialelection results reported it had passed. Dare was one of eightcounties to reject the amendment; the other seven are in centraland western North Carolina. Beth Storie was proud of her county's vote, but not necessarilysurprised by it. In the 35 years she's lived here, she said she'snoticed an acceptance in Dare that doesn't exist in neighboringcounties. Storie, who is not gay, planted a sign reading "Vote AgainstAmendment 1" in the yard of her Manteo home. A neighbor downthe street had one, too. She thought it would encourage a dialoguewith those holding a different view, but she's gotten more messagesof support than contradiction. "Even if they don't agree with it, they still practicetolerance" of gay people, she said. An active arts communityhas helped attract people with more variety in points of view, sheadded. Though Dare might be more accepting than other communities, AdamWayne Finley said it is still a struggle to be openly gay here. "Coming down here, it was a culture shock," said Finley,who moved from Virginia Beach to Kitty Hawk last year. Peoplestared at him when he went into restaurants. Once while playingpool, a group of men called him over to ask whether he was gay orjust acting like it, he said. Finley said younger people on the Outer Banks seem more supportiveand said he believes they have helped promote more acceptance ofgay people. "You've got half and half," he said. Half is the newgeneration, he said. "The other half is still set in theirways." Gabriella Souza, 252-441-1711, gabriella.souza@pilotonline.com. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as N Female Connector , 3G Repeaters for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Portable Cell Phone Jammer.
Related Articles -
N Female Connector, 3G Repeaters,
|
