Category: North Carolina

NC councilman’s ‘nasty’ anti-LGBTQ comments spark protest in Catawba County

*This is reported by the Charlotte Observer.

Community members in Catawba County are planning a protest after backlash erupted over a scheduled Pride event, including anti-LGBTQ comments from a Newton city council member. The LGBTQ+ Democrats of Catawba County plan to protest at the Newton City Council meeting on May 6. The group rebranded and reorganized its event, formerly called the “2025 Newton Pride Takeover,” after what its leaders described as “nasty” Facebook comments led businesses to withdraw. The comments included discriminatory remarks from Council Member Jon McClure, said group president MacGregor VanBeurden. “That’s when it got really nasty and a lot of people I think felt emboldened by that,” VanBeurden said about McClure’s comments. “So we got a lot of hate, a lot of bad comments, and then our businesses started pulling out from the event. There were some really serious things said and it’s really blown up in the last week.” Newton is a city of more than 13,000 people about an hours drive northwest of Charlotte. McClure responded to a Facebook post announcing the Pride event with a video where a woman made false claims about transgender people. The councilman said in subsequent comments he does not support queer and transgender people. McClure did not respond to emails and phone calls from The Charlotte Observer requesting comment. Newton Mayor Jerry Hodge said in an interview with the Observer the city will allow people to speak about the issue during public comment like they would in any other meeting. “One council member does not speak for the entire council, and that may have been perceived as the case, but it is not,” he said about McClure’s comments. “We’ll be prepared to conduct a civil meeting for our citizens… and we will conduct the meeting within the realm of respect and dignity for all who speak.” Event rebrand The original Pride celebration, planned for the week of June 23rd, included a networking event, a queer karaoke night and a drag fundraiser, VanBeurden said. Facebook comments — from the councilman and others — prompted numerous businesses to pull out, VanBeurden said. But the show will go on. Since rebranding the event as the Newton Rainbow Celebration, numerous new businesses have signed on to participate. The event will include the networking event as well as a festival and drag event. One business that pulled out was local bar Pour Choices, which was supposed to host the queer karaoke night, VanBeurden said. Local boutique Emporium 23 also pulled out following the backlash but recommitted once the event was rebranded. About 20 local vendors signed up to participate in the celebration in just a few days, VanBeurden said. VanBeurden said it is important to him to remain resilient in the face of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. “We’ve had a lot of progress made for lesbians, gays and bisexuals. We are nowhere near where we need to be, and there are still issues within our community from the outside world, but we’ve made a lot of progress,” he said. “I think that’s part of the reason that it’s so important is because as a gay man I have to stand up for other members of my community that are struggling even harder than I am.” That resilience includes the protest, which VanBeurden expects to draw turnout from the Carolinas LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce and the North Carolina Democratic Party. Catawba County isn’t the only area where LGBTQ+ events have faced pushback this year. In March, Union County commissioners voted to ban “obscene” and “sexualized” events in public parks, a move many interpreted as targeting Pride and drag events. In Monroe, two city council members also pushed for local rules to restrict drag performances, classifying them as “adult entertainment.” VanBeurden said rural and conservative areas remain critical battlegrounds in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. “I think that the most effective way to make a change in any movement is to bring visibility and to show people that we exist and we exist outside of the big cities,” he said. “We exist in the middle of nowhere. We exist everywhere.”

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North Carolina TV Station Acknowledges Transgender Day of Visibility

Scrolling through Facebook is sometimes repetitive, thanks to an algorithm that feeds you what Mark Zuckerberg thinks is best for you. Sometimes, you get pleasantly surprised by pages that seemingly post things out of nowhere you would not expect.

March 31 is the International Transgender Day of Visibility. You might expect the usual suspects, like HRC or your local LGBTQ organization to acknowledge it– maybe even hold a vigil. But would you expect a mainstream TV channel to post about it? And not just for the news of the day itself?

Local Raleigh North Carolina ABC affiliate channel 11 WTVD posted a Facebook message and photo wishing everyone a happy International Transgender Day of Visibility. The post then oddly links to a cushy story about a troupe of trans and nonbinary folks who are running an improv show in Hollywood at the Upright Citizens Brigade. Personally, I would have preferred a story about transgender folks in North Carolina and what they go through on a daily basis. But, we got something, dammit.

As one would imagine, the post has also earned over 11,000 comments and 16,000+ reactions. They go both directions and if you would like to read them you can on their Facebook post. Showing support as you read by clicking like or love, and a positive comment, would also be appreciated by many.

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Former NC Gov. Pat McCrory says transgender restrictions are ‘more complex’ than bathrooms

*This is being reported by WFMY 2.

A new bill introduced in the North Carolina Senate would significantly restrict transgender rights, drawing parallels to the controversial House Bill 2 from 2016 that sparked nationwide debate and economic backlash.

Senate Bill 516, filed by Sen. Vickie Sawyer from Iredell County and Sen. Brad Overcash from Gaston County, would require transgender individuals to use the bathroom or locker room of their biological sex in public schools and prisons. 

However, the bathroom rules aren’t as extensive as House Bill 2.  Some institutions that receive government funding, such as domestic violence shelters, would be impacted, but many government buildings would be exempt. It would also allow individuals to sue facilities if they believe these rules have been violated.

Senate Bill 516 also goes a step further, defining sex strictly as male and female and preventing individuals from changing their birth certificates or driver’s licenses after gender reassignment surgery.

The controversial 2016 bill, House Bill 2 was often referred to as the “bathroom bill.” However, former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said that was a misleading description that he hopes is changed this time around.

“It’s much more complex than that. We’re dealing with locker rooms and showers and women’s sports and fairness and even security regarding what your driver’s licenses say,” McCrory said. “It’s a very complex issue. It’s a very emotional issue.”

McCrory acknowledged that many cite this controversy as the reason he narrowly lost his reelection campaign in 2016. It put North Carolina in the national spotlight due to the nationwide boycotts that followed, leading to an estimated $3.76 billion in economic losses. The law was partially repealed after a letter signed by more than 200 CEOs pushing for the change.

In the time since, many other states have passed similar legislation without such sweeping boycotts. McCrory said the companies owe North Carolina an apology.

“PayPal, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, you name it. And frankly, I think a lot of them owe North Carolina an apology,” McCrory said. “I don’t think corporations are ever going to get involved in this issue again, because public opinion now has turned, although it is still an extremely complex issue, and we ought to have good dialogue on it.”

Critics still worry this bill will cause an uptick in discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, especially transgender youth.

Time Out Youth, a Charlotte-area nonprofit that provides support for LGBTQ+ kids and young adults including housing and mental health counseling, says it’s already seeing a steep increase in need.

“We saw more new young people last month than we’d seen all of the previous year in one month,” spokesperson Elissa Miller said.

While they are not able to comment on this specific bill, Miller says this is a reminder of what transgender youth are facing right now.

“Being a queer young person right now is very difficult,” she said. “Their very identities are kind of under debate, in the spotlight. Decisions are being made about them, without them.”

Equality NC also sent WCNC Charlotte a statement, saying in part: “We were disheartened to learn of yet another attack on our transgender community — this time in the form of SB 516.”

McCrory says he expects this version of the bill to face less scrutiny and hopes the people on both sides of the debate can avoid it as well.

“My family and I got a lot of physical and verbal threats during that three-month period, and it was not right, and I wanted to have good conversation,” he said. “It’s not time for anyone to spike the ball saying we were right 10 years ago. It’s time for respect and dignity.”

The bill’s sponsors did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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North Carolina Democrats push bills for reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ protection

*This is being reported by WFMY 2.

North Carolina Democrats filed a slew of bills Tuesday all centered around reproductive health and LGBTQ+ protections.

According to Democratic lawmakers, some of the bills will guarantee the rights to use contraception to prevent pregnancy and access fertility treatments through IVF. Others will ban conversion therapy and the use/perception of gender and sexual orientation as a defense in assault and homicide cases. An equality for all bill is also proposed.

“We need to be done with treating people as anything less than full human beings deserving of respect and dignity,” state Sen. Julie Mayfield said.

State Sen. Sophia Chitlik said, “Contraception is taken to support people with a variety of health challenges, including polycystic ovary syndrome.”

While state Democrats said they’re pushing their priorities, Republicans filed Senate Bill 516 Tuesday. Entitled the Women’s Safety and Protection Act, it is sweeping legislation that would limit a transgender person’s access to bathrooms and their ability to change legal documents.

Republicans have previously said banning biological men from women’s bathrooms is a safety measure.

According to Democrats, Republicans are only attacking marginalized communities and putting LGBTQ+ and transgender communities in danger.

“If you don’t believe it, just look out there at all those people who just want to be recognized as humans,” state Rep. Allison Dahle said. “They don’t care if you recognize their pronouns, they just want to be human and live their lives.”

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Raleigh leaders work to preserve history of LGBTQ community, recognizes significant sites in city

*This is being reported by ABC 11.

Raleigh leaders are embarking on a special effort to document historic and significant LGBTQ sites around the city.

On Monday night, a consultant hired by the city presented a study of those places, as well as recommendations on the locations that should be given an historic designation.

Over 250 properties have been identified.

Willie Pilkington, a resident in Raleigh said we all have something to contribute.

“When you see a marker, and if it’s a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender reference point, then that’s just one more ‘ah ha’,” he said. “This is who those people are. This what they actually did…and that’s what those markers do.”

City leaders said the effort is a step in preserving the stories and history of the LGBTQ community.

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Marriage equality bills filed to protect same-sex marriage in North Carolina

*Reported by WWAY News

North Carolina State Representative Deb Butler (D–New Hanover), one of the first openly gay members of the state House, has filed two bills aimed at securing marriage equality and protecting LGBTQ+ families in the state.

The proposals – H174 and H175 – come as lawmakers brace for potential challenges to same-sex marriage rights amid a shifting federal judiciary.

H174 seeks to repeal North Carolina’s outdated ban on same-sex marriage, a statute that remains on the books despite being rendered unenforceable by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. If enacted, the bill would affirm the federal protections of all married couples, regardless of gender.

H175 would introduce a constitutional amendment explicitly safeguarding marriage equality in North Carolina. The amendment is designed as a long-term shield, ensuring that even if the Supreme Court revisits Obergefell, LGBTQ+ families will remain protected from discriminatory state-level policies.

“In North Carolina, we must defend the rights of our LGBTQ+ citizens,” Rep. Butler said. “Marriage equality is a settled issue for the vast majority of Americans, and our state should reflect that reality. These bills are about ensuring dignity, security and legal protection for all families in the face of uncertainty at the federal level.”

According to a news release, Butler’s initiative is part of a broader effort to fortify civil rights protections across North Carolina. Advocates, legal experts and LGBTQ+ organizations have voiced strong support for the bills, emphasizing the urgent need for state-level safeguards amid a volatile national political climate.

The legislation now heads to the North Carolina General Assembly.

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