Equality North Carolina



Equality North Carolina is an activist group in North Carolina designed to fight for equality rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens of the state. Equality NC has two sister projects, with whom it works closely: Equality NC PAC and Equality NC Project. The purposes of these organizations are to ensure that fairminded political candidates are elected, and to educate people on the LGBT issues in North Carolina.

Equality NC is funded by the Adam Foundation (Winston-Salem) and the Guilford Green Foundation (Greensboro).

History
Equality NC began in 1990, and originally was called NC Pride PAC. Before that, it was an educational and charitable foundation for the defence of homosexuals, called the North Carolina Human Rights Fund, and established in 1979. It was eventually named Equality North Carolina in 2002, when the board agreed they needed a parent organization to manage the work and to link all the smaller foundations together.

Success
ENC's Matthew Shephard Memorial Act issued in 1999 became the first pro-gay bill ever voted on in the North Carolina House of Representatives, although it ended up losing by ten votes. In 2004, it succeeded in blocking an amendment prohibiting lesbian and gay marriages. Equality NC PAC also managed to get Senator Julia Boseman, the first openly-gay state legislator in North Carolina, elected in 2004.

The organization was successful in getting the 2008 edition of the State Personnel manual to prohibit discrimination based on sexuality and gender identity. In the summer of 2007, they petitioned to the state, requesting that it allow lesbians and gays, when hospitalized, to be visited by their partners if they wish. The new permission was approved, and allowed to take effect beginning on May 1 2008. However, the rule only allows gay partners to visit their loved ones; it does not allow them to make any medical decisions for them.

ENC endorsed James A. Wynn, Jr. for re-election to the Court of Appeals in March 2008.

Additional sources

 * www.sovo.com
 * www.hrcbackstory.org