LGBTQ issues

Public Strong School advocates listen during a Chatham County Board of Education meeting

New budget proposal would delay implementation of Parents’ Bill of Rights law

BY: - September 20, 2023

School districts would get extra time to implement policies required by the so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights” under the latest version of the state budget. Under a draft version of the budget unveiled Tuesday, districts would have until Jan. 1 to put policies in place required under the new law. Senate Bill 49 required the […]

Hann Henson

“Where is there to go?” He needs gender-affirming surgery, but NC is fighting to deny coverage.

BY: - September 14, 2023

This story was originally published by Pro Publica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. In the spring of 2022, Hann Henson accepted a job as a communications specialist for a North Carolina school district. Not long after his insurance kicked […]

Students heading to class

School leaders want delay in implementing Parents’ Bill of Rights requirements

BY: - September 7, 2023

The timing of the passage of the so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights” has made life difficult for school leaders, State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said on Thursday. Leaders dealing with the start of a new school year and probable COVID surge want to see implementation of the law delayed until Jan. 1. Under Senate Bill 49 […]

two stacks of frequently banned books

Study shows proliferation of ‘educational intimidation’ legislation since 2021

BY: - August 29, 2023

Parental rights legislation like that passed by North Carolina’s Republican-led General Assembly is intended to intimidate educators and censor curricula in public schools, says a New York-based free speech advocacy group made up of writers. “Poets, Playwrights, Editors and Novelists” (PEN) recently released a report entitled, “Educational Intimidation: How ‘Parental Rights’ Legislation Undermines the Freedom […]

COMMENTARY
Sylvia Hatchell speaks at a microphone

Former UNC basketball coach launches an airball with ill-informed advocacy

BY: - August 22, 2023

Former UNC women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell doesn’t appear to be an insincere person.  At a rally at the Legislative Building on Aug. 16, organized by right-wing culture warriors in support of a bill to ban transgender girls and women from participating in middle, high school, and college level sports, Hatchell seemed to really believe the […]

human shadows in front of a transgender flag

Federal judge blocks Georgia from enforcing ban on hormone therapy for transgender minors

BY: - August 21, 2023

Georgia families contemplating hormone therapy for their minor transgender children will have more time to make a decision after a federal judge temporarily blocked Georgia’s ban on the treatments Sunday. Georgia’s Senate Bill 140 went into effect July 1, preventing doctors from prescribing estrogen or testosterone to transgender people under 18, with exceptions for minors […]

Monday numbers: North Carolina and the national anti-LGBTQ wave

BY: - August 21, 2023

When the General Assembly overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes last week to pass a slate of bills targeting LGBTQ youth, it joined a wave of Republican-led states rolling back rights and erecting new barriers — particularly for transgender people. House Bill 808 prohibits gender-affirming medical care for those under 18, including long-established treatments advised by […]

Demonstrators hold signs at the General Assembly calling on lawmakers to protect LGBTQ Youth

Lawmakers override governor’s vetoes of bills targeting transgender youth

BY: - August 17, 2023

The North Carolina General Assembly overturned a series of Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes late Wednesday, passing into law two bills that roll back rights for LGBTQ youth in the state. House Bill 808 prohibits gender-affirming medical care for those under 18, including treatment advised by their doctors and to which their parents consent. House Bill […]

the U.S. Capitol building at night

Congress brought back earmarks. Now they’re one more point of drama in a divided House.

BY: - August 11, 2023

WASHINGTON — The new Republican chairwoman of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee said just before taking over the panel that she planned to “tweak” how the chamber earmarks spending for community projects — coveted state and local funding that members of Congress request. Some of those changes hinted at by Kay Granger of Texas have […]

Dan Bishop

One of the most conservative voices in NC’s congressional delegation sets his sights on a new seat

BY: - August 4, 2023

Rep. Dan Bishop (NC-08) confirmed on Thursday his plans to run for North Carolina Attorney General rather than seek re-election to his congressional seat. In an appearance on WBT radio, Bishop said after four years in Washington it’s clear that Congress is “stuck in status quo.” Bishop said he would use the office of Attorney […]

Myriam Reynolds at a Hu>s House committee witness table

Parents have no right to allow their children’s gender transition, Republicans say

BY: - July 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on a panel for limited federal government on Thursday argued that parents should not be allowed to let their transgender children have access to gender-affirming care. “A parent has no right to sexually transition a young child,” the chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, […]

A V.A. sign

U.S. House spending bill for the VA renews fight over abortion access, transgender care

BY: - July 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans approved their first government spending bill Thursday, following tense debate about whether the Department of Veterans Affairs should provide abortions in limited circumstances and the GOP’s decision to cut military construction funding. The 219-211 mostly party-line vote on the Military Construction-VA appropriations bill sends the measure to the Senate, where […]