Tag: HB2

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Repeal of North Carolina Hate Law Unsure At This Time

(image via WRAL)

Although GOP state lawmakers had promised to repeal their divisive hate law HB2 if the city of Charlotte would first repeal their local ordinance giving LGBTs protections, it’s not sure how things will shake out.

Charlotte fulfilled their side of the bargain, but Republican lawmakers, now in a special session, are foot dragging.

From the Charlotte Observer:

Minutes into the House session, Rep. Jeff Collins of Nash County rose to declare the session unconstitutional and decried the “extraordinary hubris” of Charlotte City Council in prompting it. Two other members joined him.

Rep. Michael Speciale of New Bern moved that the session be immediately adjourned. He was ruled out of order. Sen. Tommy Tucker, a Republican from Waxhaw, filed a resolution to adjourn the session.

By 11 a.m., the House had gone into a recess that was later extended to 1 p.m. without taking up HB2. House Republicans gathered in caucus. A growing group of protesters gathered outside the chamber.

The Charlotte Chamber, apparently alarmed by the turn of events, sent out a urgent call to action for the public to call legislators.

“This morning the Charlotte City Council approved a full and clean repeal of their non-discrimination ordinance that led to the state’s approval of HB2, a bill that has caused serious economic damage to our economy and to the perception of our state,” the chamber said. “The legislature is in special session at this moment. It is not known if there are enough votes to repeal.”

As House Republicans mulled their next move, Sen. Jeff Jackson, a Charlotte Democrat, filed his own HB2 repeal bill. Sen. Mike Woodard, a Republican from Durham, and Sen. Terry Van Duyn, a Democrat from Asheville, signed on as co-sponsors.

Stay tuned.

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Charlotte City Council Repeals LGBT Protections

The Charlotte city council in North Carolina has voted to repeal it’s LGBT protections ordinance.

The move is part of a bargain  made by GOP state lawmakers who vowed to repeal the anti-LGBT legislation HB2, if Charlotte would repeal their ordinance first.
We’ll see if the GOP controlled legislature fulfills its promise.
The council’s repeal measure requires the legislature to repeal HB2 by December 31 or its ordinance would stand.

Stay tuned.
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The Daily Show Punks North Carolina – Food Truck Refuses To Serve Gays

The Daily Show thought North Carolina might understand the impact of the state’s anti-LGBT law, HB2, through the use of some interactive learning.

The Raleigh News & Observer recaps:

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show came to Raleigh recently to poke fun at House Bill 2 by operating a food truck that refused to serve gay people. The show parked a fake barbecue business called Bone Bros. Flamin’ BBQ outside Trophy Brewing on Maywood Avenue and the Ruby Deluxe bar on Salisbury Street earlier this month.

“I wanted to show North Carolinians what HB2 would look like in action, so I rented a food truck … and set out to refuse service to people by telling them they’re gay,” Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr. says at the beginning of the segment, which aired Thursday. “HB2 says I can do this Jim Crow-level (expletive), and nobody can stop me.”

For the record, HB2 doesn’t explicitly state that businesses can refuse service to LGBT people. But it did repeal local nondiscrimination ordinances that included LGBT protections and replaced them with a statewide nondiscrimination law.

That law bans “places of public accommodation” such as restaurants, stores and hotels from discriminating on the basis of “race, religion, color, national origin, or biological sex.” But it leaves two categories unprotected: Sexual orientation and gender identity.

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News Round-Up: September 17, 2016

Prince Harry

Some news stories you may have missed:

• Woofy Prince Harry is continuing his mother’s work on behalf of those affected by HIV/AIDS.

• Did you know gay couples out-earn straight couples by more than $60K?

• Donald Trump’s much ballyhooed family leave plans won’t include gay same-sec couples who adopt.

• Did you hear the one about a douche math teacher who came up with a homophobic math question?

• North Carolina’s Gov. Pat McCrory shows his nerves as he attempts to negotiate the repeal of anti-LGBT law, HB2 – but only if the city of Charlotte will first repeal their LBGT protections ordinance. #FatChance

• First look at the upcoming film, Tom of Finland, documenting the life and work of Finnish artist Touko Laaksonen, best known for works depicting hyper-masculine archetypes such as lumberjacks, motorcycle policemen, sailors, bikers, and leathermen.

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Atlantic Coast Conference Pulls 10 Championship Events From North Carolina Over HB2

Following yesterday’s announcement from the NCAA to pull 7 championship events from North Carolina due to the anti-LGBT HB2 legislation, the Atlantic Coast Conference has followed suit by announcing 10 championship events will also be pulled from North Carolina.

The Atlantic Coast Conference voted Wednesday to find other sites for its championship games through the 2016-17 school year while the law remains in effect.

The 10 events include baseball, basketball, soccer, diving, tennis and golf.

Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC, the statewide LGBTQ rights organization, issued a statement which read in part, “It has never been more clear than it is right now – HB2 is hurting our state every minute that it remains law.”

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 Championships at campus sites. We believe North Carolina House Bill 2 is inconsistent with these values, and as a result, we will relocate all neutral site championships for the 2016-17 academic year. All locations will be announced in the future from the conference office.”

Statement from Clemson University President James P. Clements, chair of the ACC Council of Presidents:
“The ACC presidents engaged in a constructive, wide-ranging and vigorous discussion of this complex issue over the past two days. The decision to move the neutral site championships out of North Carolina while HB 2 remains the law was not an easy one but it is consistent with the shared values of inclusion and non-discrimination at all of our institutions.”

Statement from ACC Commissioner John Swofford:
“The ACC Council of Presidents made it clear that the core values of this league are of the utmost importance, and the opposition to any form of discrimination is paramount. Today’s decision is one of principle, and while this decision is the right one, we recognize there will be individuals and communities that are supportive of our values as well as our championship sites that will be negatively affected. Hopefully, there will be opportunities beyond 2016-17 for North Carolina neutral sites to be awarded championships.”

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Hillary Clinton Supports NCAA Decision To Pull Championship Games From North Carolina

Earlier today I reported on the NCAA’s decision to pull seven championship games from North Carolina due to the state’s anti-LGBT hate law, HB2.

Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton concurs with the decision sending this tweet today. Note: the H at the end of the tweet means Hillary wrote the tweet herself.

Thanks for being a leader, Hillary! #ImWithHer

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NCAA Pulls Seven Championship Games From North Carolina Over HB2

The bad news keeps coming for beleagured North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory as his state’s anti-LGBT law, HB2, continues to hurt his state’s image and economy.

The NCAA has announced seven championship games have been pulled from the state including the first and second rounds of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship — part of the Road to the Final Four — originally slated to be in Greensboro.

Via press release, the Board underscored that “NCAA championships and events must promote an inclusive atmosphere for all college athletes, coaches, administrators and fans. Current North Carolina state laws make it challenging to guarantee that host communities can help deliver on that commitment if NCAA events remained in the state.”

The seven championship events to be relocated from North Carolina for 2016-17:

• 2016 Division I Women’s Soccer Championship, College Cup (Cary), Dec. 2 and 4.
• 2016 Division III Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships (Greensboro), Dec. 2 and 3.
• 2017 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, first/second rounds (Greensboro), March 17 and 19.
• 2017 Division I Women’s Golf Championships, regional (Greenville), May 8-10.
• 2017 Division III Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships (Cary), May 22-27.
• 2017 Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship (Cary), May 26 and 28.
• 2017 Division II Baseball Championship (Cary), May 27-June 3.

The North Carolina Republican Party, which champions the hate law, issued this statement:

This isn’t the first negative impact on the state due to HB2. To date the state has lost mullion and millions of revenue due to cancelled conventions and concerts and other entertainment events.

And the governor is feeling the heat as he currently trails his opponent for reelection by an average of 6 points according to Real Clear Politics.

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News Round-Up: September 7, 2016

Robert Sepulveda Jr. of Logo TV’s Finding Prince Charming

Some news stories you may have missed:

• Finding Prince Charming‘s Robert Sepulveda Jr. tells People.com he became a sex worker in his 20s because “he had no other choice.” Btw – I have no problem with folks being sex workers. Just saying…

• Republican Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence broke with his running mate Donald Trump saying he believes President Obama was born in Hawaii.

• North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is trailing his Democratic challenger Attorney General Roy Cooper by an average of 3.6 points thanks to anti-LGBT “bathroom law” HB2.

• Playboy Playmate Dani Mathers faces up to six months in jail for taking a pic of a naked 70 year old woman at her gym in an attempt to “body shame” the woman. Good.

• With Democratic White House contender Hillary Clinton showing up at the back of her campaign plane to chat with reporters two days in a row, Repub Donald Trump is now rethinking his “blacklisting” of certain press outlets.

• Militia nutjob Ammon Bundy says he can’t belly up to the legal bar without his cowboy boots.

• Apple’s Twitter account jumped the gun on the iPhone 7 roll-out this morning as CEO Tim Cook was in the middle of introducing the new shiny new toy. Watch the quick recap video below for details.

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Federal Judge Bars University Of North Carolina From Enforcing State’s “Bathroom Bill”

Small victory for transgender rights in North Carolina today as a federal judge has ruled that the University of North Carolina may not enforce HB2, the so-called “bathroom bill,” in regards to two students and a university employee.

From Buzzfeed‘s Chris Geidner:

In the ruling U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder noted, “Ultimately, the record reflects what counsel for Governor [Pat] McCrory candidly speculates was the status quo ante in North Carolina in recent years: some transgender individuals have been quietly using bathrooms and other facilities that match their gender identity, without public awareness or incident.”

The case was brought by the ACLU on behalf of several North Carolina residents, including professors and students at UNC schools.

After reviewing the record in the case and relevant case law, Schroeder concluded a preliminary injunction of part of the law was appropriate. Specifically, he pointed to a case (G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board) in which the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals — from which appeals from North Carolina are heard — held that the Obama administration’s interpretation of Title IX’s sex discrimination provision as including anti-transgender discrimination was permitted.

“Part I’s wholesale ban on access to facilities is inconsistent with DOE’s guidance on Title IX compliance under G.G.,” Schroeder concluded.

“Accordingly, the court will enjoin UNC from enforcing Part I against the individual transgender Plaintiffs until the court reaches a final decision on the merits in this case,” Schroeder concluded.

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How The Golden State Warriors President Helped Move The 2017 All-Stars Game From North Carolina

Golden State Warriors President and COO Rick Welts

According to USA Today, one of the major turning points for the NBA’s decision to move the 2017 All-Star game from North Carolina came two weeks ago at a Las Vegas meeting of high-ranking league execs.

USA Today reports:

In a poignant address, Golden State Warriors president and chief operating officer Rick Welts, 63, who is openly gay, explained his meaningful and lifelong affiliation with the NBA and told league owners he didn’t feel comfortable attending the All-Star Game in Charlotte if the law remained as is.

His words weren’t emotional, and they weren’t delivered as a threat. But Welts, who was instrumental in shaping All-Star weekend into the big-time event it is today, didn’t plan on attending if the North Carolina law wasn’t repealed or changed.

Following the meeting, a few owners talked, and a prevailing message emerged: If Rick Welts doesn’t feel comfortable coming to the All-Star Game, the decision to relocate just got easier.

They probably didn’t know it at the time, but this was clearly an “It Gets Better” moment. One more example of how our visibility and honest self-expression lead to positive change.

Here’s a little more about Welts.

(h/t JMG)