Tag Archives: North Carolina

From the band’s website: We have announced that we will be canceling our upcoming shows in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina because of the recent passage of the HB2 legislation. This was a difficult decision for us to make as a band. We don’t want to penalize our fans in North Carolina by not performing for them, but in the …

From the Charlotte Observer: About 200 people who had registered to run Ironman triathalons in North Carolina this year have transferred to races in other states after the sport said they could make the switch due to North Carolina’s controversial LGBT law, organizers said. Ironman, the Tampa, Fla.-based sports organization, had given registrants until May 9 to request a transfer …

Via press release: Today, the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization, announced that Theodore B. Olson of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP will author an amicus brief on behalf of leading businesses in support of the Department of Justice’s lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s hateful HB2 law. “HB2 discriminates against fellow citizens because of who they are,” …

Back in February, I launched a twice-monthly column for the website of Britain’s Pride Life magazine, a quarterly LGBT rights and lifestyle magazine. Today’s seventh installment is titled Obama Administration Takes Bold Action On Transgender Rights. Hit the link for my status report on trans rights, Target, hate groups, and the feds. DISCLOSURE: Pride Life is owned by the US …

From the Raleigh News & Observer: Itzhak Perlman is the latest artist to cancel a North Carolina performance over the state’s controversial House Bill 2. One of the world’s greatest concert violinists, the 70-year-old Perlman was scheduled to play Raleigh’s Meymandi Concert Hall Wednesday night with the NC Symphony. But he called off the show on Tuesday, releasing the statement …

Elton John has penned a lengthy piece for The Hill in which he denounces the “ignorance” of North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory. An excerpt: What’s worse than the discriminatory bill itself, and the millions in taxpayer dollars McCrory is wasting to defend it, is that the governor signed it after admitting he had never met a transgender person. Although McCrory …

From Raleigh’s CBS affiliate: Law enforcement started making arrests Monday evening after hundreds of HB2 protesters moved inside the Legislative building. A crowd of around 350 gathered between the Legislative Building and the Capitol building before moving inside the Legislature just before 5 p.m. The Raleigh Police were seen arresting demonstrators around 5:20 p.m. As of 5:40 p.m., 11 people …

Via press release: The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Lambda Legal today asked a federal court to order an immediate halt to enforcement of a North Carolina law that targets transgender people for discrimination in single-sex facilities. The three organizations and the law firm of Jenner and Block are challenging the law, House Bill 2, …

From the European Union: The recently adopted laws including in the states of Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee, which discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons in the United States contravene the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the US is a State party, and which states that the law shall prohibit any discrimination and …

The office of Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) just wrote to say that earlier today he become the first member of Congress to use the term “cisgender” in a House speech. Grayson stood next to a large portrait of transgender pioneer Christine Jorgensen as he delivered a 13-minute denouncement of the GOP and of North Carolina’s anti-LGBT hate law. Grayson is …

Brian Tashman has the transcript at Right Wing Watch: “The country is imploding,” he said. “We are seeing a moral implosion. Just like we saw the World Trade Center on 9/11 when the planes hit the tower, they imploded, they fell from within, and this is what’s happening to our country, we’re falling within. Our foundations have been weakened by …

Via press release from the Democratic National Committee: Earlier today, while speaking at the Texas GOP Convention, Governor Abbott made clear that he supports North Carolina’s discriminatory law, HB2. Abbott even hinted that a similar measure could be coming to the Lone Star State, saying “I am working with the governor of North Carolina, and we are going to fight …

The Hill reports: The Obama administration will not strip federal funding from North Carolina amid a legal battle over the state’s controversial law on bathroom use, the White House said Thursday. Cabinet agencies have been conducting a review to determine whether the state’s recent legislation on LGBT rights makes it ineligible to receive education, transportation and other funding under federal …

But it’s just a “coincidence” that these companies might lose their tax breaks. From Raleigh’s NBC affiliate: While Republican state leaders have complained about being “bullied” by the federal government over House Bill 2, lobbyists in Raleigh tell WRAL News they and the businesses they represent are being bullied by state lawmakers seeking to silence business opposition to the new …

From the Salisbury Post: High school students will be allowed to carry mace in the 2016-2017 school year after the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education agreed to remove prohibitive language and amend its policy. The board spent some time at its Monday work session in the Wallace Education Forum debating whether pepper spray and other defensive sprays, as well as personal …

Via press release: Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, commended North Carolina Representatives Chris Sgro, Pricey Harrison, Susan Fisher, and Kelly Alexander for introducing a comprehensive LGBT non-discrimination bill in the North Carolina General Assembly. This bill would be a companion to HB 946, sponsored by Representatives Jackson, …

Focus On The Family’s political arm, CitizenLink, has renamed itself the Family Policy Alliance and as an inadvertently appropriate introduction, above is their graphic in support of North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory. From their new mission statement: As a Christ-centered organization, our vision is a nation where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive and life is cherished. Our …

Dan Savage appeared on The Late Show last night to talk about transgender rights, North Carolina, and Caitlyn Jenner with host Stephen Colbert, who spun the segment into an amusing tangent when he questioned Savage about the ever-increasing LGBTQIA-etc nomenclature. Savage also expounded on the “complicated” situation with Donald Trump and LGBT rights. Watch below and take note of Savage’s …

Politico reports: Attorney General Loretta Lynch likening the controversial North Carolina bathroom law to Jim Crow laws is “a bunch of crap,” Ben Carson said Monday. Announcing a counter-suit against the state, Lynch said North Carolina “created state-sponsored discrimination against transgender individuals” that violates federal law. “This is not the first time that we have seen discriminatory responses to historic …

JMG reader Tom points out that North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory’s team has wasted no time in pumping out a money beg for a “strategic defense fund.”  The above tweet links to McCrory’s reelection donation page, which now bears this message: “Fight back against the federal government’s overreach and bullying tactics.” We’re guessing that by “strategic defense fund” McCrory actually …