Jun 10, 2014
Equality NC Hosts Hundreds at the N.C. Legislature
Raleigh, N.C. – Over the past week, Equality NC has hosted hundreds of activists, ranging in age from their early teens to their late eighties, at the North Carolina legislature to advocate for LGBT equality in the state they call home.
For the first time, Equality NC hosted two #GetEngagedNC Days of Action at the North Carolina General Assembly on consecutive Tuesdays, designed to bring in advocates of all ages to speak with their state elected officials on LGBT issues of import to their communities.
On June 3, both upstart and seasoned Equality NC Day of Action attendees were greeted by state legislators during a day-long advocacy training that culminated in a march to the N.C. legislative building where LGBT and allied North Carolinians built relationships with state leaders, as well as lobbied for a variety of actions in support of the LGBT community, including amending current laws to end taxpayer money going to private schools that discriminate against LGBT students and their families, passing comprehensive protections for the state's gay and transgender workers, and adding names to Equality NC's pro-equality peer network for leaders at all levels of government, Electeds for Equality.
The following Tuesday, June 10, Equality NC held its first-ever #GetEngagedNC Youth Day of Action, featuring young activists aged 13 to 21 years old from all parts of the state who took the lead in leading conversations with state legislators on ways to protect their peers: our state's youngest and most vulnerable LGBT populations.
Through dozens of meetings with elected leaders, these activists effectively introduced legislators with their LGBT and allied constituencies, sought positive social change at the legislative level, and learned valuable lessons to take back to statewide communities in their continued fight for equality in schools, local government and in our General Assembly.