Civil Rights

Trump Taps Frothy Mix For Catholic Advisory Group, Vows To Legalize Anti-LGBT Business Discrimination

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: In one fell swoop, Donald Trump has fortified the anti-LGBT positions he expressed over his campaign and tapped as an adviser former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, a two-time presidential candidate with a notoriously anti-LGBT history. The actions are the result of Trump’s creation of a 35-member Catholic Advisory Council, which includes, in addition …

Read More »

New York Times Editorial Board: Desperate Pat McCrory Has Got Some Nerve With His Ignorant “Compromise”

BOOM. From the editorial board of the New York Times: Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina has some nerve. Alarmed by the rising financial fallout from the discriminatory law he and Republican lawmakers hastily passed in March to bar transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity, the governor seemed desperate for an off-ramp last week. On Friday, …

Read More »

NORTH CAROLINA: Dem Attorney General Roy Cooper Leads Gov. Pat McCrory By Five Points In New Poll

Public Policy Polling reports: For the first time this entire cycle PPP finds a clear leader in the race to be North Carolina’s next Governor: Roy Cooper. Cooper’s at 46% to 41% for Pat McCrory, with Libertarian Lon Cecil at 2%. When undecideds and Cecil voters are asked who they’d pick if they had to choose between Cooper and McCrory, …

Read More »

COLORADO: Hate Group Files Federal Suit To Overturn Statewide LGBT Business Protections Because Jesus

The Alliance Defending Freedom just got smacked down in Phoenix but they’re trying again in Colorado. Denver’s ABC affiliate reports: A Christian woman claims Colorado law violates her ability to deny business to supporters of same-sex marriage and has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the laws on the basis they violate the U.S. Constitution. Lorie Smith, who owns …

Read More »

Tony Perkins Slams Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts For Refusing To Repeal Her City’s “Ideological Terrorism”

Via press release from hate group leader Tony Perkins: Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts started the North Carolina bathroom mess — and this week, she had a chance to end it. Unfortunately for the state, it seems the city’s top Democrat isn’t nearly as interested in getting North Carolina back on track as she and other liberals insist they are. Locked …

Read More »

KENTUCKY: ACLU Files $233K Demand For Cost Of Suing Kim Davis Over Same-Sex Marriage Licenses

Dominic Holden reports at Buzzfeed: The legal advocacy group that represented several couples in a lawsuit against Kim Davis — the county clerk in Kentucky who famously refused to issue marriage licenses after the Supreme Court struck down bans on same-sex marriage — is asking a federal court to award it $233,058 to cover legal expenses. In court documents filed …

Read More »

ARIZONA: Court Smashes Hate Group’s Attempt To Overturn Phoenix’s LGBT Anti-Discrimination Ordinance

Back in May, Alliance Defending Freedom sued to overturn Phoenix’s LGBT rights ordinance on behalf of a tiny company that produces hand-drawn wedding invitations. At that time Brush & Nib had never even been asked to create invitations for a same-sex couple, much less turned one away, so the haters filed a so-called “pre-enforcement challenge.” Today the Superior Court of …

Read More »

NORTH CAROLINA: GOP Blasts Charlotte’s Refusal To “Compromise” And Repeal Their LGBT Rights Ordinance

Charlotte’s CBS affiliate reports: Monday morning the North Carolina Republican Party issued a statement from Party Chairman Robin Hayes saying Cooper and Roberts “again scuttled a compromise deal.” “Roy Cooper’s silence on the Charlotte bathroom ordinance repeal deal confirms he was working with his ally Jennifer Roberts to kill any compromise all along,” Hayes said Monday. “This is the second …

Read More »

CHARLOTTE: Mayor Says City Council Won’t Consider McCrory’s “Compromise” To Repeal LGBT Rights Law

The Charlotte Observer reports: Despite pressure from business leaders, Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said Monday the city won’t repeal the ordinance that led to House Bill 2 this week – and maybe not at all. And in a memo to the City Council, the city attorney said the General Assembly doesn’t need the city to rescind its ordinance in order …

Read More »

CHARLOTTE: Newspaper Busts McCrory For Planting Fake Questions From Them At Press Conference

From the editorial page editor of the Charlotte Observer: With Hurricane HB2 blowing North Carolina’s doors off, Gov. Pat McCrory took questions in Charlotte last week – from himself. McCrory’s staff planted questions at a lunch event in SouthPark on Thursday with the crowd under the impression that they were coming from the media or the audience. The moderator, a …

Read More »

Charlotte Observer Editorial Board: McCrory’s Repeal “Compromise” Would Sell Out The LGBT Community

From the editorial board of the Charlotte Observer: Gov. Pat McCrory and some N.C. lawmakers are encouraging the Charlotte City Council to make a compromise that might result in the repeal of HB2. It’s a bad deal for the city, and more importantly, for members of the LGBT community who would lose their best chance at protections from discrimination. Council …

Read More »

NORTH CAROLINA: Restaurant And Hotel Association Calls For Charlotte To Repeal Its LGBT Rights Ordinance

Via press release: The unintended consequences of Charlotte City Ordinance #7056 and House Bill 2 have taken a considerable toll on our state as a whole. The hospitality industry has become collateral damage in a fight it did not start or ask for. Restaurant and lodging businesses and their employees are suffering the adverse impact of these policies though lost …

Read More »

NORTH CAROLINA: Gov. Pat McCrory Offers To Repeal Hate Law If Charlotte Repeals Law That Spawned It

He’s panicking. Via the Charlotte Observer: Gov. Pat McCrory could call lawmakers into session as soon as next week to repeal House Bill 2 – but only if the Charlotte City Council first drops the ordinance that prompted it, his office confirmed Friday. The North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association has been working to broker a compromise to stop the …

Read More »

NORTH CAROLINA: Losses From Sports Cancellations Over Anti-LGBT Hate Law Could Exceed $100M

Yahoo Finance reports: College sports are big money, and losing them can cost a state, big-time. The Atlantic Coast Conference’s announcement Wednesday to relocate all neutral-site championships from North Carolina was yet another hit to the state over its controversial “bathroom law.” The ACC decision comes just two day after the NCAA announced it will pull all 2017 championships from …

Read More »

US House Rep. Richard Hudson Threatens Tax-Exempt Status Of NCAA And ACC Over Cancellations

Via press release from US Rep. Richard Hudson: “This is political theatre by the NCAA and ACC. If these multi-million dollar, tax exempt organizations were interested in social change and not making a political statement, they would proceed with their marquee events in North Carolina and enact any transgender bathroom policy they wanted. This blatant political move – less than …

Read More »

NORTH CAROLINA: State Senator Becomes First Republican Legislator To Call For Repeal Of Hate Law

Bet you can guess why. Raleigh’s NBC affiliate reports: State Sen. Tamara Barringer, R-Wake, told WRAL News Tuesday night that she became the first Republican lawmaker to call for the “substantial and immediate” repeal of House Bill 2 due to the measure’s “unintended consequences,” which have played out over the past six months. “I did not realize the consequences of …

Read More »

NORTH CAROLINA: Atlantic Coast Conference Pulls Ten Championship Events Over Anti-LGBT Hate Law

NCAA 2, Electric Boogaloo! Via press release: Statement from the ACC Council of Presidents: “As members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the ACC Council of Presidents reaffirmed our collective commitment to uphold the values of equality, diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination. Every one of our 15 universities is strongly committed to these values and therefore, we will continue to host ACC …

Read More »

North Carolina Newspapers React To NCAA Pulling Events: “A Slap In The Face And It’s McCrory’s Fault”

Above is just one article on the front page of the sports section in today’s Greensboro News & Record. See the full thing below. Here’s what two college athletes are saying in an op-ed for the Raleigh News & Observer: In reaction to HB2, the NCAA’s Board of Governors will relocate all seven collegiate championship events from North Carolina in …

Read More »

TENNESSEE: 53 GOP State Legislators Collude With Hate Group To Intervene In Gay Couple’s Divorce

The Tennessean reports: Fifty-three Republican state legislators have teamed with a Christian conservative group in trying to become involved in the pending divorce of two Knoxville women who are arguing over child custody. The Family Action Council of Tennessee announced that its legal arm, known as the Constitutional Government Defense Fund, is representing the legislators in filing a motion to …

Read More »

North Carolina GOP Has The NCAA Insane Sadz

“This is so absurd it’s almost comical. I genuinely look forward to the NCAA merging all men’s and women’s teams together as singular, unified, unisex teams. Under the NCAA’s logic, colleges should make cheerleaders and football players share bathrooms, showers, and hotel rooms. This decision is an assault to female athletes across the nation. If you are unwilling to have …

Read More »