LGBTQ issues
More than 100 organizations call on Target, other businesses to stand up to anti-LGBTQ threats
A coalition of more than 100 organizations — several from North Carolina — are calling on the major retail chain Target and the business community at-large to stand up to extremist threats going into LGBTQ Pride month. As Newsline reported, Target reluctantly decided last week to pull some Pride Month merchandise from its shelves as […]
Monday numbers: Coming of age LGBTQ in the South
As LGBTQ Pride month approaches, the community continues to face an onslaught of violence, censorship and harmful legislation. Even major corporations are facing conservative boycotts and terrorist threats for the sort of support for LGBTQ equality efforts in which they have engaged for years. In North Carolina, bills have been filed this legislative session that […]
Facing restrictive school policies, Union County students organize LGBTQ Pride rally
This weekend students in Union County will hold a youth-led LGBTQ pride rally in Waxhaw. The Saturday event, which will kick off June’s Pride Month early, comes as students and parents in Union protest school policy changes by the Union County Board of Education they say target marginalized student groups. Earlier this month the board […]
Pence walks political line in UNC-Chapel Hill speech
A little over a half-hour into former Vice President Mike Pence’s talk at UNC-Chapel Hill Wednesday evening, the only real interruption came. “Trump trusted you!” a man heckled from the crowd of just over 500 in the Great Hall of the campus student union. “You betrayed Trump!” As security ejected the man and the crowd […]
Not even the Moore County power outages could stop drag queen Naomi Dix
This story was first published by the UNC Media Hub. When the lights went out, Naomi Dix thought she’d missed a stage cue. She worked through the production notes in her head: She was introducing the third act, which was meant to start with a blackout — but it shouldn’t have happened while she was […]
Transgender sports ban passes N.C. Senate
The North Carolina Senate passed its version of a bill that would exclude transgender female athletes from middle and high school sports Thursday. The bill is less expansive than the similar House version passed Wednesday, which includes college sports. The Senate version also does not prohibit female athletes from playing on teams designated male, while […]
U.S. House approves bill banning transgender student athletes in girls sports
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans voted Thursday to prohibit transgender student athletes from competing on girls sports teams consistent with their gender identity, at the same time multiple GOP-dominated states are making similar moves. The bill, H.R. 734, which would apply to K-12 schools as well as colleges that receive federal funding, passed on a […]
N.C. House passes transgender sports ban
A bill barring transgender female athletes from female sports teams passed the state House by a 73-39 vote Wednesday. The bill, which expands the originally proposed ban from middle and high school teams to include college athletes, moved swiftly through two committees Tuesday and Wednesday to a floor vote in the afternoon. All Republicans who […]
New bill would criminalize public drag performances
Public drag performances could become illegal under a bill filed Tuesday in the N.C. House. H673 would classify as “adult live entertainment” any “male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest,” making it illegal for drag performances to take place on public property in the presence of anyone under age […]
“They assume we don’t exist”
A bill that would prohibit transgender girls from playing girls’ sports in middle and high schools in North Carolina cleared its first hurdle Tuesday, passing the state Senate Education/Higher Education Committee. Out of the approximately 180,000 active student athletes in the state, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association says, only about 15 are transgender. […]
Town Hall on Youth Mental Health to be held in Winston-Salem Thursday
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will hold a town hall Thursday evening on the mental health crisis among children and teens. The discussion will bring together NCDHHS officials and state lawmakers to get input from the public and talk about possible solutions. The most recent data from the federal Centers for […]