Candidate plans fundraising ‘roast’
GREENVILLE, S.C. — James Akers, Jr., an openly gay candidate for the Greenville County Council, is turning humor into campaign cash.
Akers, 27, is planning a fundraiser for May 18, 2-4 p.m. at Cafe and Then Some. The event will be a “roast”of Akers and will allow supporters to see a lighter side of the candidate as Susan Smith and Maureen Abdulla, Cafe and Then Some cast members, entertain with their hilarious comedy picking at Akers and his ideals.
“As a fan of Cafe and Then Some, I am both excited and nervous to share the stage with Susan and Maureen,” Akers said. “Hopefully I can stay on the good side of their humor.”
Ticket prices will range from $50 for balcony seating to $100 for floor seating. There will also be a $150 ticket price which supporters can choose to have a member of the audience “roasted.” Light refreshments will be served and the roast will be followed by a question and answer session with Mr. Akers.
Tickets are available at www.VoteAkers.com/roast or by contacting Courtney Hughey, volunteer coordinator, at 864-420-6000 or at Courtney@VoteAkers.com.
Anti-gay A.G. among McCain supporters
COLUMBIA — Queer news and culture blog Queerty.com reported Apr. 23 on the numerous anti-gay politicians supporting Republican Sen. John McCain’s bid for the White House. Among them was South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster.
In a June 27, 2003, article from The Charlotte Observer, McMaster railed against the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas (2003).
“Texas, just like South Carolina, has the fundamental right and authority as a sovereign state to enact laws prohibiting behavior deemed inappropriate and detrimental to the state,” McMaster said. “The citizens of our state, through their elected representatives, have seen fit to have our law against sodomy in effect since the Lord Proprietors governed South Carolina.”
According to Queerty.com, McMaster is among several McCain supporting state attorneys general who have espoused anti-gay legal positions. Others include Indiana’s Steve Carter, Georgia’s Mike Bowers and Alabama’s Troy King.
For more information, visit scattorneygeneral.org and queerty.com.
Openly gay bishop leads Reformed Church diocese
REGIONAL — Originally reported by The Southern Voice, an openly gay bishop now leads the St. Michael’s Diocese of the Reformed Catholic Church, an open and affirming shoot-off of its much larger, world-wide Roman Catholic sister.
Archbishop Patrick Batuyong leads the diocese, which includes the Southeastern U.S. and both Carolinas, from his St. Michael the Defender Church in Atlanta.
“Catholic guilt is powerful — ‘If I’m not in the Apostolic Catholic Church then I’m not in the real church’ — but we are in the Apostolic line that is tied not to the Pope, but to St. Peter,” Batuyong told The Southern Voice. “We are a Catholic Church, we agree with the traditions of Rome, the faith of Rome, but not the politics of Rome.”
Batuyoung has been with his partner for 13 years, but he does not endorse gay marriage.
“I believe that a marriage is a spiritual relationship between a man and a woman,” Batuyong told the paper. “Now if you want to talk about equality, that is something different, but I believe marriage is a sacrament.”
For more information, visit reformedcatholicchurch.org and sovo.com.
info: Announce your community event in SC News Notes. email: editor@q-notes.com or fax 704-531-1361.