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Whatever Happened to HB 879: A Primer on Our Legislative Process
Lessons Learned and Thoughts for Next Year
Raleigh - House Bill 879, the bill designed to finally make the Sexuality Education in North Carolina reasonable and effective, didn't make it out of the House Education Committee in time for Crossover.  What does that mean?  It means, for this session at least, that the bill is (mostly) dead in Raleigh.   Let us take a moment to remember the Bill and all the good it could have done.  Please, a moment of silence.

And now, let's take a moment to cheer.  We got that bill farther than anyone has gotten a comprehensive sexual health bill since 1996.  We out-emailed the opposition 3 to 1 during its time in the House Health Committee.  We called legislators, we emailed legislators and we made them listen.  And next time, we're going to do it again, better, louder and with results.  Next time we're going to make sure that they know that we're going to hold them accountable for their votes and for their support or lack of support for youth in North Carolina.
What Worked and What We Learned
Over 70% of North Carolina parents want their children to learn about comprehensive sexual health education in public schools.  We learned that legislators won't take you seriously unless you call, write and email them.  We learned that North Carolina has great friends and supporters in the following legislators:

House Sponsors: Representatives Fisher;  Coleman;  Jeffus;  Goodwin; Co-Sponsors: Representatives Adams;  Alexander;  Carney;  Dickson;  England;  Farmer-Butterfield;  Glazier;  T. Harrell;  Harrison;  Insko;  Luebke;  Martin;  Parmon;  Pierce;  Ross;  Underhill;  Wainwright;  Weiss;  Womble.

Senate Sponsor: Senator Linda Garrou; Co-Sponsors: Senators Janet Cowell;  Katie G. Dorsett;  Kay R. Hagan;  Eleanor Kinnaird;  William R. Purcell.

These good men and women worked hard to ensure that North Carolina youth would get quality sexual health education, and we should all write and call them to thank them for their efforts.  I know that next year, these public servants will work hard to ensure that this legislation finally passes. 

We also learned that we must counter fear-mongering with facts; hate with hope; and prejudice with promise.  We must always look to the future, and ensure that all children in North Carolina have the opportunity to grow into their full potential, without worrying about disease or teen pregnancy. 
The Next Step
Next session, APPCNC will continue to support this legislation and will keep you updated on its progress.  We will need you to continue what we've started with this bill.
  • Keep in touch with your legislators.  We elected them; they serve at our pleasure.  Call them periodically and remind them that you care about the future of the youth of North Carolina.
  • Show up at election events and ask the candidates what their stance is on Comprehensive Sexual Health Education.  We need more legislators that understand the importance of supporting the youth.
  • Invite legislators to visit your programs.  Show them what needs to be done and give them the facts they need to support the right bills.
  • Add legislator's email addresses to any lists you mail out information to.  Let them know what you're doing and why it's important.
  • Call your school boards and urge them to undergo the process to allow Comprehensive programs into your school.  Even if this legislation passes, make the commitment to be one of the programs that doesn't wait for Raleigh to catch up.
We need to keep current with our legislators.  As I learned at the Legislature over the last few weeks, far too few of us contact our legislators enough.  We need to keep in contact with them all throughout the year.
Remembering Why It Matters
As numerous evaluations and studies have shown, Abstinence Only sexual health education doesn't work.  Adding the Comprehensive message to the Abstinence message will result in a better, stronger and more effective sexuality education.  It will give kids the tools they need to stay safe and healthy and will result in more science-based programs across North Carolina.  The bill is not and never was Anti-Abstinence, as so many critics contended.  It safeguarded Abstinence and gave our youth the facts they needed to avoid ending up as a statistic.  We must always remember that our first and only priority must be the welfare of North Carolina's youth.
The Bottom Line
We did a very good thing in supporting this bill.  It made it farther than any has before and it will go even farther next time around.  Congratulations and thanks to everyone who called, wrote and showed up at the Legislature to support this bill!  You are all truly an inspiration to me and to the Youth of North Carolina.

Here's to you!  Good job, North Carolina!