The Campaign for Southern Equality’s year in video and images! It was an amazing year for LGBT rights across the South.
1) Same-sex couples all across North Carolina recorded their out-of-state marriage licenses at their local Register of Deeds office as an act of protest against Amendment One.
2) Our friends at Gender Benders drove a truck full of supplies up from South Carolina – clothing, sheets, towels and much more – to the Be Loved House. Be Loved House is the only LGBT inclusive homeless shelter in Asheville, North Carolina.
3) Blue Cross of NC, the largest health care provider in the state, announced they will offer family plans to same-sex married couples and domestic partners! Susan Wilson, pictured on the right with her wife Judy, for playing a crucial role behind the scenes in bringing about this change.
4) CSE gathered for a Family Reunion in Weaverville, NC. State Senator Van Duyn (middle-right, rocking a CSE baseball style T-shirt) with members of the Campaign for Southern Equality Team – Jasmine, baby Cal, Carmen, and Meghann.
5) David and Gary marched with 80,000 people in Raleigh on February 8, calling for a better North Carolina as part of the Moral March led by the NC NAACP.
6) CSE worked with LGBT organizations in Mississippi to lead the fight against SB 2681. Unfortunately, this “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” passed.
7) More than 250 organizers and activists attended our LGBT* in the South conference. Folks from 8 Southern states coordinated & collaborated on how to win equality.
8) Shannon Minter of the The National Center for Lesbian Rights gave an amazing keynote address this morning at the “LGBT* in the South” conference. He spoke powerfully about love, power and justice.
9) Carolyn and Christina who were married at the Stonewall Inn in NYC on March 11th! Residents of Hattiesburg, Mississippi they took a stand against SB 2681 (an anti-gay bill in Mississippi) and continue to advocate for equality in their home state.
10) LGBT groups rally for rights at the Capitol building in Jackson, Mississippi. Constance Gordon speaks to the crowd. “Mississippi is usually last for everything,” Gordon said. “We will not be the last to get equality. I will work hard for that.”
11) Mary and Starr, “Refuse to Lie” on their North Carolina state taxes by filing as a married couple.
12) “If you’re buying, we’re selling” was started by Mississippi business owners in response to the “Religious Freedom Bill” also known as SB2681. The group distributes stickers free of charge to any business wanting to take a public stance against discrimination, and for equal rights. http://
13) Cari and Kim, from Mobile, Alabama, were invited to the White House Easter Egg Roll. So, of course, they took a selfie in front of the White House with their son.
14) On April 28, a federal legal challenge to Amendment One was filed in North Carolina on behalf of clergy, same-sex couples and the United Church of Christ. http://bit.ly/1pFrmdY
15) On May 8, (2 years since passage of Amendment One) same-sex couples in Wake County applied for marriage licenses at the Wake County Register of Deeds Office.
16) We went to the post office and bought a ton of Harvey Milk stamps.
17) A whopping 91 individuals completed a Health Care Power of Attorney at Salisbury Pride during CSE’s free legal clinic!
18) Meghann Burke and Diane “Dizy” Walton of CSE’s Legal Team accepted a 2014 Champion of Civil Liberties Award recognizing CSE’s work for equality from the Western NC ACLU Chapter. They’re pictured here with fellow honoree Drew Reisinger, Buncombe County Register of Deeds, who was recognized for being the first county clerk in the South to begin accepting marriage licenses from same-sex couples.
19) Pride flags were a beautiful sight at Moral Monday in Raleigh!
20) Couples across North Carolina continued to take action for equality as we waited for a court ruling. Together 33 years, John and Bob (with their pastor Amanda), applied for a marriage license in Buncombe County, North Carolina.
21) We had a ton of fun with our friends in Elizabethton, Tennessee, at the First Presbyterian Church as we talked about winning LGBT rights in the South.
22) In total, 54 individuals completed a Health Care Power of Attorney document on Saturday at the Campaign for Southern Equality’s free legal workshop at Charlotte Black Gay Pride!
23) Keisha and Dericka knew that when they went to the McDowell County Register of Deeds’ Office this morning to request a marriage license as part of the WE DO Campaign, they would almost certainly be denied.
What they didn’t expect, however, was that 150 counter-protestors would hold a rally on the courthouse lawn.
24) The 4th Circuit rules that same-sex couples have the freedom to marry! But marriages in NC, SC, VA and WV are still on hold.
Our friends at the Mitchell County Gay Straight Alliance celebrated the 4th Circuit ruling in Bakersville, the “most conservative town” in North Carolina.
25) Brave couples pushed for marriage equality in their home states on the heels of the 4th Circuit ruling. Neil & Ronald wait to apply for a marriage license this morning at the Probate Court office in Greenville, South Carolina. All 5 LGBT couples who applied were denied licenses.
26) On August 28, Winston-Salem, North Carolina announces a new policy to recognize the legal out-of-state marriage licenses of LGBT city employees and extend standard employee benefits to their families.
Liz Vennum, CSE’s Legal Outreach Coordinator, worked with local advocates including Mary Jamis, attended council meetings and presented a Memo about the policy to city council.
27) Thirty attorneys and notaries gave up their Saturday to volunteer at our Community Law Workshop at Charlotte Pride!
144 individuals completed a Health Care Power of Attorney at Charlotte Pride!
28) On August 13, LGBT couples in 9 counties across Mississippi recorded their marriage licenses at Chancery Court. This coordinated action created public records of married Mississippi same-sex couples.
Errol and Mick were married on May 22, 2014 in Bakersfield, California. They recorded their marriage license at Chancery Court in Harrison County, Mississippi where they live.
Ravi and Paris were married in Massachusetts in 2012. They recorded their marriage license in Starkville, Mississippi, where they live.
29) Ahead of the 2014 election, our team registered voters across the Carolinas as part of an effort to amplify LGBT voices through the democratic process. Our community organizer, Joey Lopez, dropping off completed voter registration forms.
30) North Carolina continued to wait, not so patiently, for a ruling on marriage equality.
31) The moment we knew Amendment One was history. Attorney Meghann Burke reads the order striking down Amendment One from Judge Cogburn as Buncombe County Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger celebrates.
Couples began marrying immediately. At approximately 5:45 p.m., Amy and Lauren, became the first same-sex couple to marry in NC!
A very big Pride flag on City Hall in Asheville.
No, you didn’t dream it. Marriage equality is the law of the land in North Carolina.
WATCH our #DayOneNC recap video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q6WFt3fL5s[/youtube]
32) Couples across the South continued to call for rights as part of the WE DO Campaign.
On October 16, Matt and Raymie were denied a marriage license in Hamblen County, Tennessee. They could drive 45 minutes to North Carolina and marry, but will wait until they can marry where they live.
33) 100 individuals (100 right on the nose) completed a Health Care Power of Attorney for free on October 18 at our free legal clinic at Pride Winston-Salem.
Marriage equality is the law in NC, but LGBT individuals still need to take action so that their medical choices are respected in emergency situations.
34) Ivy Hill wrote an op-ed in the Advocate on why marriage equality is a trans* and genderqueer issue.
“Sometimes I am asked by others in the LGBT* movement why I work on marriage equality. Sometimes, I am told point blank that, as a genderqueer person, marriage should not be a priority for me personally or in my advocacy efforts. Those people view marriage as being at odds with the priorities of the T and Q communities.” – Ivy Hill.
35) On October 20, Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant was filed in federal court, challenging Mississippi’s ban on same-sex marriage.
36) Judge Reeves set a quick timeline in the Mississippi marriage equality lawsuit.
37) We voted.
38) #BlackLivesMatter in the LGBT community.
“As a white parent of African-American boys, I love my children with the protective fierceness of a mama bear. But that does not mean I do not have some unexamined white privilege, some racism smeared on me that I have not scraped off yet.” – Sarah Thach.
Read her entire essay at: http://southernequality.org/having-the-talk-with-my-sons/
39) On November 12, Andrea & Becky and Carla & Joce went to federal court in Jackson, Mississippi to win marriage equality in Mississippi.
After a marathon 6-hour hearing, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves promised to make a decision “as soon as possible.”
40) Messages of support from around the country for the Mississippi couples poured in. Katie & Nilka (and their little one) sent their love from Washington, D.C.
41) On November 20, marriage equality finally became a reality in South Carolina!
Dan (pictured left) was at the Stonewall Riots of 1969, where the modern movement for LGBT rights in the U.S. began. He applied for a marriage license in Greenville, South Carolina, with his partner of 43 years, Tom on the first day in South Carolina.
42) On November 21, hundreds gathered in downtown Asheville (and across the globe) for the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. Together we remembered the countless lives lost – celebrating their dignity and denouncing the bigotry and hatred that killed them.
43) On November 25, U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves struck down Mississippi’s ban on marriage equality! However, marriages cannot yet begin in the state.
44) On December 1, World AIDS Day, we honored the memory of those we’ve lost and remember our responsibility to help end this epidemic. Thanks to Western NC AIDS Project for sponsoring the event.
45) CSE launched “The LGBT South,” a weekly email newsletter highlighting the voices and experiences of LGBT people living in the South.
46) The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant for January 9, 2015. The Court will hear arguments in cases from Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas on that day.
Join the Forum for Equality Louisiana, Equality Texas, Lambda Legal, Freedom to Marry and CSE in New Orleans on January 9!
Thank you for being with us every step of the way in 2014.
The Campaign for Southern Equality mobilizes people all across the South – from the Gulf Coast of Mississippi to the Piedmont of North Carolina – to stand up and tell our country a new story about the urgent need for full LGBT equality in all spheres of life – employment, housing, health care, family rights and marriage.
