Tag Archives: North Carolina

The Associated Press reports: North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is going to court in a fight for a state law that limits protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. McCrory is leading a lawsuit filed Monday seeking to keep in place the law the U.S. Justice Department said last week violated the civil rights of transgender people. The Justice …

Today is the federal deadline for North Carolina to repeal or rescind the anti-trans portion of its anti-LGBT hate law. This morning state Rep. Don Bishop, one of the law’s co-sponsors, appeared on CNN where he told host Chris Cuomo that HB2 is a “very common sense and reasonable law.” Bishop did allow for the possibility of “tweaking” the law, …

Let’s see Tony Perkins spin THIS: Americans broadly oppose laws that would require transgender people to use facilities that correspond with their gender at birth rather than their gender identity, according to a new CNN/ORC Poll, and three-quarters favor laws guaranteeing equal protection for transgender individuals. Overall, 57% say they oppose laws requiring transgender individuals to use facilities that do …

To his credit, host Chris Wallace points out that there are no cases of trans people assaulting people in restrooms. Fox News reports: North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said Sunday that he will comply with the Justice Department’s Monday deadline to either scrap its transgender bathroom law or face legal action and risk losing federal funds. “I’ll make a decision …

Last night Dan Savage and Ann Coulter battled over transgender rights on Bill Maher’s HBO show, with Coulter making the familiar and widely-debunked claim that predators will use so-called “bathroom laws” to assault women and children. Andy Towle has Savage’s best line: “They couldn’t demagogue anymore about gays and lesbians because too many of us are out and too many …

The Charlotte Observer reports: House Speaker Tim Moore said Thursday that legislators won’t meet the U.S. Department of Justice’s Monday deadline to repeal or stop enforcing House Bill 2. The department sent state leaders a letter Wednesday saying that the law violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act and Title IX – a finding that could jeopardize billions in federal education …

Activists from the right wing National Center for Public Policy Research ambushed PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi at the company’s shareholder meeting in North Carolina yesterday, warning her that PepsiCo would be made “another Target” unless she backs off from her call to repeal the state’s anti-LGBT hate law. Nooyi, apparently, wasn’t having it. From the group’s press release, here’s an …

From the Associated Press: Giving no indication of yielding to pressure, North Carolina’s Republican leaders called a federal warning about the legality of the state’s new law limiting LGBT anti-discrimination rules a broad overreach by the government. Gov. Pat McCrory and top state legislators were determining what steps to take after the U.S. Justice Department said in a letter Wednesday …

From the Charlotte Observer: U.S. Justice Department officials Wednesday notified Gov. Pat McCrory that House Bill 2 violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act. The department gave state officials until Monday to address the situation “by confirming that the State will not comply with or implement HB2.” The letter says HB2, which pre-empted Charlotte’s anti-discrimination ordinance, violates Title IX of the …

From Beyonce’s website: North Carolina has been drawing the attention of the masses for new legislation that blocks cities and local governments from passing anti-discrimination measures that could protect gay and transgender people. It all began earlier this year when Charlotte passed a decree expanding North Carolina’s anti-discrimination laws allowing LGBT people protection in places of public accommodation. The ordinance, …

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has acknowledged that his reelection has been imperiled by the backlash over his state’s anti-LGBT hate law. From the Raleigh News & Observer: McCrory commiserated over House Bill 2 with old friends Tuesday morning when he made a 15-minute appearance on “The Big Show with John Boy and Billy” radio broadcast from Charlotte. Introduced as …

Finally, we have an ad campaign featuring a real life trans person. The campaign goes live today. Clip recap: In this new ad, Zeke Christopoulos – a transgender man who lives in Asheville, North Carolina – and two of his professional colleagues discuss their concerns about the discriminatory House Bill 2, which knocked down existing non-discrimination protections for LGBT people …

Ever since Donald Trump came out against North Carolina’s hate law, Ted Cruz has made the “bathroom” issue a major talking point of his media appearances. He did so once again this morning on Meet The Press. From the Human Rights Campaign: “After invoking the importance of the Bill of Rights, Ted Cruz had the gall to spread vicious lies …

MoveOn has launched a #StandWithTarget petition to counter the petition authored earlier this week by the AFA. From the MoveOn petition: “I pledge to support Target and any other business that stands up for transgender rights and accommodates transgender people in their restroom use.” Sign at this link. They’ve gotten 26K signatures already.

Raw Story reports: “I can’t believe we’re even talking about this,” McCrory said, before blaming “the left” for the passage of HB2 by the Republican-dominated state legislature. The law rolled back anti-discrimination statues implemented in Charlotte, and bans trans residents from using public restrooms according to their gender identity. “It’s not just womens’ bathrooms, it’s mens’ bathrooms,” he continued. “In …

Dominic Holden reports at Buzzfeed: The country’s top LGBT legal organizations urged federal officials on Thursday to make it clear that passing anti-LGBT laws like one in North Carolina will jeopardize their federal education funding. In their letter to White House counsel Neil Eggleston and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the five groups write, “This administration must make definitively clear …

From the Raleigh News & Observer: State Senate Democrats’ proposal to repeal House Bill 2 appears to be dead just a day after it was filed. On Wednesday, senators Terry Van Duyn of Asheville, Jeff Jackson of Charlotte and Mike Woodard of Durham filed Senate Bill 784, which would repeal the controversial LGBT law in its entirety. The bill is …

From the Raleigh News & Observer: Without mentioning North Carolina’s House Bill 2, the NCAA’s Board of Governors on Wednesday adopted a requirement that sites bidding on NCAA events demonstrate they will provide safe environments free of discrimination. “The higher education community is a diverse mix of people from different racial, ethnic, religious and sexual orientation backgrounds,” Kirk Schulz, president …

Billboard reports: The just-announced My2K Tour — featuring a roster of pop stars most famous for their contributions to the charts in a decade when MTV’s TRL ruled the music business — is sure to be a hot ticket for nostalgia-loving audiences. Just not anyone in North Carolina. Originally scheduled for 35 dates, My2K will now stop in only 33 …

From the Washington Post: Stephen Colbert doesn’t like that legislators in North Carolina and elsewhere are legislating which bathrooms transgender people can use. He even called them “weirdos” on Tuesday night’s show. “To all those lawmakers out there who are so obsessed with who’s using what bathroom and what plumbing they’ve got downtown?” Colbert said. “Newsflash: You’re the weirdos.”