On Monday, Charlotte, North Carolina’s city council unanimously voted to pass an ordinance that extends nondiscrimination protections to LGBT people. The new ordinance protects several new classes from discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and passenger vehicles for hire and procurement. It prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity, […]
North Carolina’s 20-Week Abortion Ban Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal Appeals Court
North Carolina’s ban on abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy was unanimously declared unconstitutional on Wednesday by Richmond, Virginia’s 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The ban had been in effect since 1973 and was enacted as a response to the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Roe v. Wade. It prohibited abortion after 20 weeks except […]
Young Transgender Activist Shot and Killed in North Carolina
Monika Diamond, a 34-year-old transgender LGBT+ activist and businesswoman, was shot and killed on Wednesday, March 18 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Multiple shots had been fired before police and ambulance were dispatched in response to a disturbance call. After attempting to revive her, Diamond was pronounced dead at the scene. According to Maya Oppenheim, Women’s […]
North Carolina House of Representatives Failed to Overturn Governor Roy Cooper’s Veto of an Anti-abortion Bill
The North Carolina House of Representatives failed to overturn Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of an anti-abortion bill that would have required physicians to treat any newborn delivered during an abortion and grant the infant the same protections guaranteed to other patients. Known as a “born-alive” bill, this abortion ban would have made it illegal for […]
Judge Rules Dress Code Requiring Skirts Unconstitutional
A judge ruled that a North Carolina school’s dress code prohibiting girls from wearing pants is unconstitutional because it violates the equal protection clause, after three girls, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the Charter Day School. Judge Malcolm J. Howard wrote that the, “skirts requirement causes the girls to suffer a burden […]
Feminist Candidates Find Support in Battleground Districts
A recent poll in eleven battleground districts, including districts in Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, Arizona, and Minnesota, revealed that about half of voters support electing feminist candidates. In Kentucky’s sixth district, 47 percent of voters supported electing more feminist candidates, while more than 50 percent of voters supported feminist candidates in Pennsylvania, […]
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Again, Judges Rule North Carolina’s Congressional District Map Unconstitutional
On Monday, a three-judge panel on the Circuit Court of Appeals ruled North Carolina’s congressional district map as unconstitutionally gerrymandered to favor Republicans.
University of North Carolina Found in Violation of Title IX
Last week, the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights concluded a five-year investigation, determining that University of North Carolina Chapel Hill was in violation of Title IX. UNC did not admit guilt, but Chancellor Carol Folt listed five actions to improve UNC’s Title IX program.
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Supreme Court Rules on Major Gerrymandering Cases
The Supreme Court ruled on two major cases regarding gerrymandering on Monday. The decisions, a victory for Republican lawmakers in Texas and North Carolina, allow for the majority of the states’ voting districts to remain in their current design ahead of the 2018 elections.
Judges Rule Two Congressional District Maps Unconstitutional
On Monday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the state’s Republican drawn congressional districts were unconstitutional and ordered they be redrawn in the next several weeks.
One Thousand Anti-Abortion Protesters March on Embattled North Carolina Abortion Clinic
As a closing event to their 40 weeks of protests, anti-choice group Love Life Charlotte planned a march of 7,000 demonstrators at A Preferred Women’s Health Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. A Preferred Women’s Health Center is one of the busiest abortion providers in the state of North Carolina.
North Carolina Labor Federation Elects First Woman President
Last week, MaryBe McMillian became the first woman to be elected President of North Carolina’s Labor Federation (NC AFL-CIO).
County of Durham, NC Unanimously Endorses CEDAW
In a general meeting on September 11, the Durham County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt a resolution that endorses the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Prominent North Carolina Civil Rights Center Banned from Engaging in Civil Rights Litigation
In a 24-3 vote last week, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors (BOG), which determines the rules and regulations for the University of North Carolina (UNC) system, barred the UNC Chapel Hill School of Law’s Center for Civil Rights from engaging in civil rights litigation for minority and low-income communities. The UNC Center […]
Maternal Mortality Rates are Rising in the United States
The United States saw a dramatic 27 percent jump in the maternal death rate from 19 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 24 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2014. In 2015, the rate once again went up to 26.4 deaths per 100,000 live births, and it is black women who are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth related incidences than white women.
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Case of North Carolina Voting Laws
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear North Carolina’s appeal to reinstate their restrictive 2013 voting laws that had previously been struck down by a federal appeals court.
North Carolina Lawmakers Roll Back Anti-LGBTQ Repeal Bill
The new bill, while repealing the language of HB2, does little to overhaul the harmful impact of the law. The North Carolina General Assembly will still have authority to pass laws over access to multi-stall restrooms and bar local governments from putting forward nondiscrimination ordinances until 2020.
North Carolina State Lawmakers Embroiled in Partisan Controversies
The hostility between Republicans and Democrats in North Carolina has been ongoing since the contested election in November, when Governor McCrory refused to concede the election to Cooper, asserting without evidence that the election had been tampered through widespread voter fraud.
McCrory Concedes North Carolina Governor’s Race to Democratic Challenger
Today North Carolina’s incumbent governor, Pat McCrory, conceded to his Democratic challenger, Roy Cooper, becoming the first North Carolina governor to ever lose re-election and ending a month long contentious struggle for the future leadership of the state.
Thousands of North Carolina Voters Removed from Registration Rolls
Voting rights protectors including the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP filed a lawsuit this week in federal court alleging that three North Carolina counties—Moore, Beaufort and Cumberland—illegally purged thousands of voters from the registration rolls, a disproportionate number of whom are African American.
