Is it a Good Thing To Hold The DEM Convention in a Homophobic State?

It's convention fever! With the Republican National Convention convening this week in Tampa, attention is also turning to the Democratic National Convention, which will be hosted in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sept. 4-6.

Using North Carolina as the site of the DNC has caused some uproar in the wake of North Carolina's passage of Amendment 1, which banned gay marriage and civil unions in the state earlier this year. 

Still, some are arguing that hosting the DNC in North Carolina will highlight the problems faced by the LGBT-community.

More after the jump.

The Associated Press spoke with David Webb, one of the organizers of Charlotte's gay pride festival, which is occurring this weekend.

Webb says, "We're excited that the convention is in Charlotte, but we also want to show that we're united and will continue to push for change."

"It's an opportunity for the community to say, `Yes. The state may have passed an amendment limiting our liberties, but we're going to keep fighting.' This is an opportunity to show the community and ourselves that, you know what, we're not down and out."

Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrar, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, concurs.  As AP explains, Beach-Ferrar's group has been organizing the "We Do" campaign which advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

She believes that the DNC will bring light on a local and national level to what the LGBT is dealing with. 

"This convention is a way to highlight some of these contentious issues because North Carolina helps illustrates what's going on. It's good to remind people what's going on here," Beach-Ferrar said.

What do you think, Instincters? Could the decision to host the DNC in an "anti-marriage equality" state ultimately be a good thing?

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