Producers Will Clegg & Lauren Schneider interview Diana Travis and MaryAnn Mueller in their Charlotte home.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two Charlotte natives are on a quest to record history and explore how last year’s anti-LGBT state constitutional campaign affected the lives of North Carolinians. Producers Lauren Schneider and Will Clegg have been traveling the state to interview individuals, couples and activists. They want to know how Amendment One affected daily life and how the campaign transformed Carolina politics.
“This is a post-campaign look at what happened, what people’s experiences were during the event and lead up to the actual vote,” says Schneider.
The film-making team, which is holding a fundraiser for their effort on Friday evening, say they want their film to tell all sides of the story.
“Our goal is to be as unbiased as we can be and to talk to as many people as we can to foster a healthy, civil conversation,” Schneider says. “After all the backlash, the media, the vote and during the campaign, there were some destructive conversations around these issues. We want to bring some healthy, positive conversation and do some bridge building between as many viewpoints as we can.”
Schneider and Clegg, who are joined in the effort by Christina Birkhead, have held dozens of interviews already. They’ve spoken to couples, activists, legislators and religious leaders. They’ve been sure to find people from both sides of the issue, though finding amendment supporters willing to speak on camera has been more difficult.
“It has been challenging to find those people,” says Schneider.
The film, still in production with more than $50,000 in successfully-raised fundingvia Kickstarter.com, will seek to show what Schneider says are “beautiful stories on both sides.” Schneider adds, “People are so much more tolerant and understanding that the media and political system would have us believe they are.”
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thedailywhat:
In Case You Missed It of the Day: To the bitter disappointment of equal rights advocates across the country, North Carolina voters passed a constitutional amendment late Tuesday that bans marriage between same-sex partners. Amendment One passed with 61 percent of the vote — or 1.3 million residents in favor.
And it’s worse than you think — the amendment doesn’t merely ban gay marriage. The legislation is among the most conservative in the nation, leaving no room for legal recognition of civil unions or domestic partnerships.
President Obama’s North Carolina spokesman says the president is “disappointed” by the outcome of the election, but declined to elaborate. Obama is scheduled to sit for an interview with ABC News today, “during which he is likely to discuss his ‘evolving’ views on the issue,” according to the New York Times.
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such disappointment..](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3rhh1vpbG1qzpwi0o1_500.jpg)
