GetEqual: Say goodbye to your First Amendment rights

Our right to protest elected officials is about to be destroyed, and President Obama is the only person who can save it.

The House and Senate are sending President Obama a bill that would make it illegal to protest anyone under Secret Service protection, or at any location sanctioned as being of "national significance" -- including the Democratic and Republican conventions, or even the next Super Bowl!

We must stop this bill today. Click here to sign our petition asking Obama to veto the bill. It takes less than a minute!

All over the country, the right to protest is under attack. Just yesterday, an LGBT organizer in my home state of Mississippi had his permit to march revoked because he couldn't afford liability insurance -- just one more way that governments are putting up barriers to the rights of minority citizens. This legislation in Congress adds another layer of challenges to our First Amendment rights. Under this law, the act of protesting could bring jail time of up to 10 years!

Protesting unjust leadership is how we create pressure for positive change, and remind our fellow Americans that there is dignity in refusing to accept injustice. By speaking truth to power and disrupting those who use their office to bully LGBT people, we challenge evil and create the ability for the system to accept our demands.

If we can show substantial resistance to this legislation, it will give President Obama the political room he needs to veto the bill. Can you sign the petition now?

After signing, be sure to Tweet, share on Facebook, and email your friends and family so that we can show the media that the public is resisting!!

-- Robin, Heather, and GetEQUAL organizers across the country

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VoteFORMarriage begins Bus Tour,

Vote FOR Marriage NC is taking part in a statewide Values Bus Tour hosted by the Heritage Foundation and the Family Research Council starting this Saturday, March 3rd until Wednesday, March 8! Join us at a location near you to hear special guests from Vote FOR Marriage NC give insight on how you can protect marriage in your area.

**Reminders will be sent the day before each event in your area takes place, so be on the alert for updates!**

Bus stop #1: Civitas Conservative Leadership Conference (Register here)
When:   Friday – Saturday, March 2-3 (bus arrives Saturday)
Where: The Marriott-Crabtree; Raleigh, NC (map)
Why:      Get materials from the Vote FOR Marriage NC booth and hear from Jordan Lawrence
              of the Alliance Defense Fund on Friday at 4:15 p.m. to learn more about the
              Marriage Protection Amendment. 

Bust stop #2: First Baptist Church-Charlotte
When: Sunday, March 4: 10:30 a.m.
Where: 301 South Davidson Street; Charlotte, NC 28202
Why:     Get materials from the Vote FOR Marriage NC booth and hear from Tony Perkins,
              President of Family Research Council

Bus stop #3: Rally at Hanes Mall (by the Golden Corral)
When:  Monday, March 5: 12 noon – 1:30 a.m.
Where: 3320 Silas Creek Pkwy #264; Winston Salem, NC 27103
Why:     Hear from Vote FOR Marriage NC guests, register to vote, and learn more about the
             Heritage Foundation and Family Research Council

Bus stop #4: Foothills Conservative PAC
When:   Tuesday, March 6: 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Where: The Log Cabin, 1 Harmon Field Rd.; Tryon, NC 28782
Why:     Get information about Vote FOR Marriage NC and learn more about the Heritage
              Foundation and Family Research Council

Bus stop #5: First Baptist Church-Indian Trail
When: Wednesday, March 7: 4 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Where: 732 Indian Trail-Fairview Road; Indian Trail, NC
Why:     Get information about Vote FOR Marriage NC, register to vote, and learn more about
              the Heritage Foundation and Family Research Council

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Neighbors For Equality launches Amendment 1 Truth Project

Neighbors for Equality, one of the many grassroots coalition partners working to defeat NC Amendment One, has launched The Amendment 1 Truth Project to help take on the lies put out by proponents of bigotry here in NC.

It is vital that we work to spread the truth about Amendment One. Our opposition is working hard to convince our neighbors that Amendment One is about protecting their marriages and protecting their children. We know Amendment One will harm the people we care about, and the Amendment 1 Truth Project is focused on making sure people are as educated as possible when they vote on May 8.

As part of the Amendment 1 Truth Project, we are launching two new resources today. The first is anew website focused on Amendment 1 Truths. The site will be updated regularly with information regarding the amendment and links to resources from a variety of sources. The new website can be visited by accessing Amendment1Truth.tumblr.com. The second is a twitter feed that will be regularly updated with amendment truth. This new twitter account can be accessed and followed at twitter.com/Amendment1Truth. We will also be using the tools to rebut false claims made by individuals and organizations in support of the amendment.

So surf on over and join the fight to beat Amendment one.. Donate if you can.. See what you can do in your Neighborhood and surrounding area..

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NAACP Disagrees with Rep. George Cleveland on Poverty in North Carolina

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 1, 2012

For More Information:       Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137

                                         Atty. Jennifer Marsh, Acting Director, 919-682-4700

For Media Assistance:       Rob Stephens, Office Manager, 336-577-9335 

The NAACP Disagrees with Rep. George Cleveland on Poverty in North Carolina

DURHAM - The NC NAACP deeply disagrees with Rep. George Cleveland who was quoted as saying, "We have no one in the state of North Carolina living in extreme poverty." "The facts on poverty and the faces of poverty in North Carolina and the nation not only disprove his erroneous contention but remind us why we must address the issue of structural and systemic poverty in our state rather than engage in attention-violence and disdain for the poor. Rep. Cleveland, and anyone else who proclaims poverty is not a real and serious issue, should join us in telling the truth and developing hopeful and progressive policies that will uplift and transform the lives of those who are yet burdened with the despair of poverty," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, NC NAACP President. 

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Is ACT UP coming Back, I hope so…

HIV/AIDS activist Peter Staley asks his readers on Poz.com

I know I haven't, and I'm betting most POZ/AIDSmeds readers haven't either. Then why aren't we fighting harder for research towards a cure? And why aren't we pushing back harder against congress for recently blocking support for needle exchange programs, or taking Obama to task for his proposed budget cut to PEPFAR? Why aren't we all standing up strongly for the single most important piece of legislation for the care of people with HIV/AIDS? It's called Obamacare, and we should all start defending it against misleading FOX News/Tea Party attacks. The amazing Vincent Gagliostro, an ad-hoc member of Gran Fury, the art collective that created many of ACT UP's most memorable graphics, designed this poster yesterday to inspire all of us as the 25th anniversary of ACT UP approaches.

Remember this the last cure for an illness in this Country was way back in the fifies,, when they care to find a cure, not its fuck the cure, we make more money off of treatment then we do if we cure it..

I wouldn’t be shock to find out a cure had been found back in the 90’s by one of these Big ass Drug companies, who decide to put money before life..

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A lot of Rich folks have decided to live on the Streets and in the Gutters here in NC. NOT!

Well, folks here in NC were there is no one living in extreme poverty, living on the street is a rich man vacation..  Those that are living in on the street are secretly rich.. they just don’t want folks to know it..

According to Republican State Representative George Cleveland,  “we have nobody in the state of North Carolina living in extreme poverty.”

I don’t know where he is getting his information, but living on the street and in gutters are not a sign of living large here in the NC. These folks are the very definition of extreme poor, most have treatable medical condition.

I don’t know what has happen to the Republican party in the last decade but I think it high time to get them all drug tested ASAP.

Nearly eight percent of North Carolina’s population lives in deep poverty, which experts define as an income below half of the poverty line, far above the national average. The latest census showed that 17.5 percent of the state lives in poverty, the 13th highest rate in the country.

The comment come out a of a hearing on Pre-K program,

Cleveland was participating in a hearing by the House Select Committee on Early Childhood Education Development, which had issued a report that outlined recommendations for pre-kindergarten education that would drastically reduce eligibility for the state’s Pre-K program. Studies have shown that young children like the ones who would be pushed out of the state’s pre-k program, are hit hardest by deep poverty.

But this isn’t the first time he has open his mouth and insert his foot..

In 2007, he told a reporter that a person can identify an undocumented immigrant “if a fella comes in with a pair of shaggy boots on, and jeans and a t-shirt, and he’s got a straw hat on.”

George has been in the NCGA for 4 terms, here is his NCGA contact info, if you feel the need to reach out,

Office: 417A Legislative Office Building

Phone: 919-715-6707

Email: George.Cleveland@ncleg.net

Legislative Mailing Address:
NC House of Representatives
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 417A
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925

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Hagan Opposes Blunt Amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (NC) today voted to oppose the "Blunt Amendment," a far-reaching provision that would have given unprecedented authority to employers and insurers to deny women access to preventive services. Senator Roy Blunt (MO) proposed the provision as an amendment to the Surface Transportation bill, important bipartisan legislation that would help jumpstart the economy and create more than two million American jobs.

"It's insulting to the American people that instead of focusing on job growth and the economy, some members of the Senate believe it is more important to play politics with women's health," Hagan said. "The Blunt amendment is a vast overreach that could lead to employers denying 600,000 North Carolina women access to vital preventive services-from mammograms to prenatal care - that saves lives and saves families. While I continue to support the religious exemption endorsed by the administration, which takes into consideration the concerns of religious organizations and requires insurance companies to reach out and offer contraceptive care free of charge, I cannot support a provision that threatens health coverage for women in North Carolina and across the country."

Under current law, individuals are guaranteed access to free preventive services such as cancer screenings, flu vaccines, diabetes and annual checkups. The Blunt amendment would allow any employer or insurer to deny these or other services for vaguely defined objections that would take the power over a women's health care out of her hands and into her employers'.

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Momentum: ProtectNC: Amendment 1

Join us: http://www.protectallncfamilies.org/momentum - since we fell one vote short in the legislature and Amendment One made it onto the ballot, the Coalition to Protect ALL NC Families has built an incredible amount of momentum thanks to you.

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