LOCAL NEWS -- CHARLOTTE, NC

Campus Pride & Time Out Youth Condemn Remarks by Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James as “intolerant and harmful to area LGBTQ youth”

Both organizations call for an immediate reprimand of Commissioner James

Charlotte, NC, Thursday, December 17, 2009 – Campus Pride and Time Out Youth today condemned remarks made by Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James at the Tuesday night county commissioner meeting where domestic partner benefits for same sex couples were considered and then passed by the majority of commissioners. Both Campus Pride and Time Out Youth call for an immediate reprimand of Commissioner James to send a clear message that incivility and disrespect will not be allowed in public county commission meetings.

During the meeting, Commissioner James interrupted Commissioner Vilma Leake and leaned over to her saying, “Your son was a homo, really?” The comment was made after Leake shared an impassioned speech about her son being gay and passing away of HIV/AIDS. Commissioner James has repeatedly used slurs like “trannies and homo” and likened bisexuals to a “Three’s Company of the sordid and icky kind” to demean LGBT people.

Campus Pride and Time Out Youth, which both serve local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) and ally youth, call Commissioner James remarks “intolerant and harmful to area youth.” Citing national research on LGBTQ youth issues, the organizations point out that LGBTQ youth are at high risk for suicide and depression due to constant verbal harassment, name-calling, slurs and ridicule faced daily in schools and in public settings.

“Commissioner Bill James remarks are nothing but intolerant and harmful to our area youth,” said Steve Bentley, Executive Director of Time Out Youth. “There is no reason why a young LGBTQ person should have to hear such disdain and hateful rhetoric from a public official who is elected to represent them. There are young people who are victims of depression and even suicide because of hateful slurs and comments like that of Commissioner James. Elected leaders are expected to be positive role models for our youth. We need to hold Commissioner James accountable for his actions."

“Commissioner Bill James crossed the line with his anti-LGBT remarks. Once again, he has made a desperate bid for attention in a public board meeting at the price of others," said Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director of Campus Pride. "More and more, fair minded citizens believe that there's no place for this kind of bigotry. Commissioner James needs to apologize to Commissioner Leake for his comments and we demand an immediate reprimand for his abhorrent actions at the public meeting. The repercussions of such language and actions are immeasurable toward LGBTQ youth and our community. Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte deserve public officials who can show a modicum of respect for the office they hold and demonstrate civility for all people in public discourse.”

Campus Pride and Time Out Youth call on the Mecklenburg County Commission to hold Commissioner James accountable for his actions in the public meeting and reprimand him immediately. Both organizations urge the media to report on Commissioner Bill James' long history of using anti-gay slurs and his usage of misleading facts and falsehoods about LGBT people.

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About Campus Pride Campus Pride is the leading national nonprofit organization for LGBT and ally youth at colleges and universities across the United States. The organization is based in Charlotte, NC. For more information, please visit www.campuspride.org

About Time Out Youth Time Out Youth is based in Charlotte, NC and offers support, advocacy and education to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth ages 13-23. For more information, please visit www.timeoutyouth.org