Yesterday we introduced you to gay Senatorial candidate Jim Neal, pictured above with one of his two sons.

The conversation continues today with our editor getting into the nitty-gritty of Neal's current campaign.

Andrew Belonsky: What made you stop volunteering for or fundraising for campaigns, as you did for Kerry, and actually launch your own?

Jim Neal: Well, I've always wanted to do it. I was a little kid and wanted to be president. I don't want to be president right now, but I have always contemplated running for federal office. I think there were two things that prevented me from moving on it. One was that when I did come out in my early-30's, I thought, "Okay, that's it. A gay person can't run for public office. It's off the table". The times changed and that was no longer necessarily the prevailing wisdom, but I had custody of my two children. I was a single parent raising two young children and they came first. Their needs came first. That was the most difficult job I've ever had in my life, but it was also extraordinarily rewarding. Raising two kids with two parents is a challenge, much less one, because you have to be both dad and mom. You've got to have the maternal side and the more stereotypical father role. I think I yielded more to the maternal because I felt like my kids needed that, because they didn't have it. Even before I declared my candidacy, I spoke with both my children - my boys, they're not children anymore - and told them what it would entail, made it clear that I was the one running for office, they could be as involved or not be as involved as they wanted to be. They both said, "Go for it," but my older son threw in the caveat, "Dad, please don't ever forget the little guy."

AB: Your sexuality is not the cornerstone of your campaign, but I want to talk a little about Chuck Schumer and how things went down with your campaign announcement and what could be perceived as the cold shoulder from your Democratic peers. Do you think that reaction tacitly stressed your sexuality?

JN: Not necessarily. There was a good deal of concern - not necessarily expressed, but certainly there were folks who were part of the status quo political system that found my candidacy threatening. They felt that a gay person on the ballot would draw out social conservatives to vote against me and therefore to vote for the other candidate on the ballot. My view of that - I didn't foresee that. It didn't even cross my mind. Chalk it up to political naivete, but it didn't cross my mind because I think it's silly. It's analogous to the so-called conventional wisdom that said a black person could never be elected or a woman, much less a Roman Catholic to the White House. They were wrong then and they are wrong now.

North Carolina native Jim Neal just may be the most controversial queer candidate this political season. The 51-year old entered the race to rival Republican Elizabeth Dole. One would expect resounding praise for a man with such balls - Bob excluded - but Neal's senatorial candidacy became a scandalous affair.

Most people believed that Brad Miller would run as the Democratic candidate, but the Congressman ended up eschewing the race. Democratic Senate Campaign Committee chair Chuck Schumer attempted to persuade two other candidates - Sen. Kay Hagan and state Rep. Grier Martin - but both refused. Thus, Neal entered the raise, without Schumer's blessing. In fact, it's been widely reported that Schumer initially ignored Neal's calls, leading many to believe Schumer had little faith in a gay candidate.

Neal recently gave our editor some of his time to discuss the Schumer scandal. But, before we get into the present day political debates, we're going to take a trip back to see how former finance executive Jim Neal became a Democratic Senatorial candidate.

John Edwards got some good news today. Q-Notes - the "leading gay news source of the Carolinas" - decided to endorse the controversially coiffed candidate. From Out For Edwards:

After a series of meetings between the editors, the staff and the publisher, Q-Notes has endorsed John Edwards for President. His concrete, progressive policy positions (including steadfast support for pro-LGBT issues), his commitment to returning power to the people from moneyed special interests, his outstanding polling strength against the Republicans and his positive impact for down-ticket candidates nationwide combine to make him the best candidate in the race.

Q-Notes encourages all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voters to support John Edwards in the primaries and beyond.

We're not sure we're going to take you up on that offer, Q-Notes. We're still undecided, but rest assured we'll be taking a stand soon enough.

Queer senatorial candidate Jim Neal recently released an ad reminding voters that contrary to Republican ideology, families come in all sizes, shapes and colors:

Without a doubt, raising children is the toughest job I've ever had, but without a doubt it's the most rewarding. The most important people in my life are my children. As a parent, you're no happier than your least happy child. And I have been that way my entire life and I'm that way today, even though my my kids are 20 and 22 years old.

Neal's running against Republican Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina, but has faced stiff opposition from his Democratic allies, who reportedly don't want him to run. Note the note at the 9 second mark - that's for Senatorial Campaign Committee honcho Chuck Schumer, among others…

• Paris Hilton made a press appearance in Korea this weekend. And so did her lipstick smeared teeth.

• Chris Crocker wants us to leave him alone. We will, just as soon as he stops assaulting our culture with his attention-seeking absurdity.

• John McCain's 95-year old mother takes jab at Mitt Romney.

CONTINUED »

Hoping to strike a balance between black and gay voters, presidential candidate Barack Obama enlisted Andy Sidden for his controversial Embrace The Change gospel tour. It would seem, however, that Sidden's not entirely uncontroversial.

The North Carolina-born Reverend (pictured, looking creepy) once worked with the massive gay-founded Metropolitan Community Church. In July of 2002, while working as a pastor at South Carolina's MCC-Columbia, Sidden campaigned to join the ranks of MCC's elders. He didn't get his wish. Less than one year later, the United Church of Christ - an equally inclusive church - asked Sidden to lead their pack. Sidden agreed.

In doing so, however, Sidden may have inadvertently destroyed MCC - Columbia.

CONTINUED »

Daniel Gilbert probably won't win the GOP presidential ticket, but he's certainly got the part down.

The North Carolina business man, who made his fortune in the mortgage business, harnesses the GOP's anti-gay powers to fuel his righteous campaign. And, of course, that includes knocking gay marriage. In an interview with BBS News, Gilbert says he supports an amendment banning gay marriage.

While most politicians use the federalist papers and state autonomy to explain their bigotry, Gilbert gets straight to the point: he just doesn't approve.

CONTINUED »

Three former employees have some hot beef with Gregory A. Moore, the owner of North Carolina's wildly successful Smithfield's Chicken 'n Bar-B-Q chain.

Jason C. Hallaman, Donald R. Mayes and Randy Martin all allege that Moore, who divorced his wife in 2002 and claims to be both bisexual and gay, sexually harassed them.

Though Mayes settled his suit, Hallaman testified yesterday and regaled the court with Moore's alleged advances.

CONTINUED »

The prisoner's rights debate takes on a new gay twist with two unrelated cases out of North and South Carolina.

A North Carolina prisoner named Joseph Urbaniak - who's serving up to 50 years after "taking indecent liberties with a child" - filed a suit against the state's Department of Corrections for denying him his favorite fag rags, like The Advocate.

Officials claim they have to withhold certain publications "for security and order in the prison". The ACLU, which wants the Department to provide a list of all banned publications, seems to sympathize with prison officials.

Spokesperson Jody Kent says, "Of course, the correction officials have a responsibility to protect the prisoner, so they often use that as a reason to ban certain materials." This argument holds water, yes, but only to a certain degree.

CONTINUED »

North Carolina based Dr. Bob Crummie sure does have some crummy politics. The North Carolina State Legislature recently honored the not-so-good doctor with the not-so-exclusive "Doctor of the Day" honor: a "a volunteer position arranged by the N.C. Medical Society," according to The Charlotte Observer.

As part of that role, doctors head to the General Assembly and offer their services, free of charge. While the duty can certainly be classified as "valiant" (rich politicans need medical treatment, too!), Crummie's anti-gay past can be classified as "revolting". Or, to employ Interstate Q's adjective: "disgusting".

CONTINUED »

Private First Class Johnny Lamar Dalton ain't getting first class treatment at Cumberland County jail, where he's being held on a $50,000 bond for infecting an 18-year old male lover with HIV.

The 25-year old soldier from the 22nd Aviation Support Battalion has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, a misdemeanor assault charge and a "crime against nature," military speak for anal sex, which is strictly prohibited for American soldiers.

CONTINUED »

Republican Patrick McHenry may redefine “totally and irreversibly fucked”. The North Carolina representative has found himself in the middle of both a voter fraud and a gay sex scandal. CBS first broke the story on Friday, reporting that McHenry’s former aide, 26-year old Michael Aaron Lay, has been indicted for voter fraud.

The indictment charges that [Lay] illegally cast his ballot in two 2004 Congressional primary run-offs in which McHenry was a candidate. The charges indicate that Lay voted in a district where it was not legal for him to vote.

At the time Lay was listed as a resident in a home owned by 32-year-old McHenry but campaign records indicate Lay's paychecks were sent to an address in Tennessee. McHenry won the primary by only 86 votes. According to Gaston County, North Carolina District Attorney Locke Bell, Lay was indicted on Monday, May 7 by a local grand jury.

Too add innuendo to injury, Lay wasn’t the only young man living at McHenry’s house, proving that no one goes down quite like a Republican.

CONTINUED »

A group of about a 12,000 Evangelicals took some time yesterday to march in support of a constitutional ban on gay marriage. Shouting "let us vote" and brandishing the typical signs, the group pleaded with lawmakers to hear their calls.

Some lawmakers insist that a new amendment's superfluous, as the state already has an amendment invalidating same-sex marriages. Others worry that the 1996 amendment's flawed and, therefore, can be found to be unconstitutional. An amendment specifically barring gay nups, then, will ensure North Carolina's blessed purity:

…Republican legislators who support the bill say a judicial ruling could find North Carolina's marriage law unconstitutional, forcing the state to recognize same-sex unions. Only a constitutional amendment can protect the state, said state Sen. Phil Berger, a Republican from Eden and the Senate's GOP leader.

"We've seen what's happened in other states and a constitutional amendment will keep that from happening in North Carolina"

He went on to say that they're hoping for a law banning homosexuality entirely, thus protecting future generation's from the most loathsome of sins: acceptance. That would be the most terrible thing in human history. Even worse than the Holocaust.

Okay, okay, he didn't really say that, but you can imagine it, right?

Remember Danielle Smiley, the North Carolina student whose push for a Gay Straight Alliance incited quite a PTA-related stir? Well, though her school has yet to reach a conclusion on the matter, Smiley's just received quite the ally: everyone's favorite civil liberty do-gooders, the American Civil Liberties Union.

Though local opponents insist a GSA will invite all sorts of homosexual evil, the ACLU is determined to push the move to completion. How determined? They've promised to devote their "full resources," whatever that means.

On a related note, a lovely woman by the name of Linda Kimball just penned this opinion piece in which she takes aim at Smiley and other GSA adherents. She writes:

The plain truth is that both the GSA and Gay, Lesbian, Straight Educators Network (GLSEN), the organization that registers GSAs, are part of a vast, interconnected network of Cultural Marxist front groups known collectively as the New Left. For over forty years, the New Left—a collection of Marxists, Stalinists, Trotskyites, Maoists, and anarchist–has been waging a Gramscian style “quiet revolution” for the overthrow of Christianity and America’s Constitution, Rule of Law, sovereignty, and way of life.

While propagandists in the media have deftly kept the attention of most folks riveted on what they’ve been told to believe are the ‘real threats’ to America, such as gas prices, genuine Christianity, and mad cow disease, Marxist-trained psychopoliticians, propagandists, and change agents have descended upon the schools and are subjecting children and older youth to thought control and social re-engineering methodologies.

Damn this bitch is good. She's summed up the last forty years of so in two concise paragraphs. We'd definitely need way more than that to form an appropriate response.

As we're constrained, we'll try to keep it short: fuck you. Yeah, that about sums it up.

Related: Gay Student Just Wants To Talk

A reader just sent us a story in which we think you'll have some interest. Danielle Smiley has come against some pretty heavy opposition in her quest to found a Gay Straight Alliance at her North Carolina high school. In typical Christian-right fashion, local pastors insist the club will be a hotbed of homo sin. The Herald Sun reports:

Local pastors and parents have denounced the proposal. They've said the club could help spread AIDS, encourage children to engage in sex and persuade others to become homosexual.

Ug, it's just so frustrating when people think all homos do is shoot drugs and have orgies!
All of us know that the GSA ain't nothing but a bunch of young homos and straight allies getting together to have nice, quiet chat.

It wouldn't be a "gay club" for recruiting homosexuals and promoting sexual activity, but instead would focus on raising awareness about homosexuality among all students, she said. It also would provide an opportunity for gay students to talk with their peers instead of their parents or adults, Smiley said.

With all the controversy, school officials called a community meeting to discuss the matter, which 130 people attended. A decision has yet to be made.

Smiley says she understands people's trepidation, but it all comes down to free speech:

I was raised as a Christian and I understand everything that the Bible says to me… I'm not forcing anyone to go to this club. But the First Amendment gives me the right to free speech… All we want is to have people treated the same.

Word.