HB2 Changes in North Carolina and the 2017 NBA All-Star Game


CHARLOTTE, NC —  North Carolina lawmakers are considering revisions to House Bill 2 to keep next year’s NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte. The legislation does not throw out transgender bathroom regulations, which has some activists asking the NBA not to support the so-called compromise. WCCB political contributor, Mary C. Curtis, breaks down the draft bill.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Announces Changes for Transgender Students

CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is following the lead of the University of North Carolina system by passing new regulations for their transgender students. The move is not a statement against North Carolina’s controversial HB2 says CMS Superintendent Ann Clark. WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis stops by to weigh in on the bathroom changes happening throughout the school district.

Weighing In on How the Orlando Shootings Are Shaping Campaign 2016


CHARLOTTE, NC — Presidential hopefuls are starting to weigh in following the deadliest mass killing on U.S. soil since 9/11. Mary C. Curtis weighs in on how the Orlando shooting is shaping the current political landscape and impacting the race for the White House.

A New American Motto: I Care About Me and Mine

“Drive Like Your Kids Live Here.” The signs have sprouted up around my neighborhood, to plead with those cutting through the narrow streets to just slow down. Though I’m not sure it will work, I recognize the tactic. It seems the only way to gain empathy, charity or a smidgen of decent behavior is to make it personal. While one can understand, it doesn’t bode well for the future of the country if making it personal is the only way to make it right.

Right now though, it seems that’s the major incentive for breaking policy makers out of a partisan mold.

 

Lawsuits, Government Overreach, and House Bill 2


CHARLOTTE, NC — The battle is on for LGBT rights, state’s rights, and the overall feeling of government overreach as dueling lawsuits over North Carolina’s House Bill 2 take center stage. WCCB’s Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in on what many are now calling the next Civil War.

What N.C.’s Pat McCrory Is Ignoring While He Focuses on Bathrooms

CHARLOTTE, N. C. – North Carolina finds itself in the middle of a high-profile, far-reaching culture war battle, and it’s doubtful its leaders saw it coming.

Political opponents up and down the ballot take sides and issue statements, and a governor facing a tough re-election race has seen the nut-and-bolts economic issues he campaigned on as a practical moderate pushed aside as he is defined by a bill that legislates bathroom choice for transgender individuals, takes away the power of cities to enact their own nondiscrimination rules and the right to sue in state court.

The people of North Carolina can only wonder what comes next, as they sees the mantle of the more progressive Carolina usurped by its neighbor to the south, where Republican Gov. Nikki Haley has said her state has no need of its own version of House Bill 2. This despite the fact that three South Carolina cities have anti-discrimination ordinances similar to the one in Charlotte that Republican legislators insist triggered their actions. And by the way, Haley has offered a welcome mat to any business finding the North Carolina climate less than hospitable.

In North Carolina, LGBT Bill Is Political and Personal

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It doesn’t take much to re-brand a state. Ask North Carolina.

Here’s the formula: Have the general assembly call a special session to pass a law that revokes an LGBT-anti-discrimination ordinance approved by the state’s largest city — plus throw a few other restrictive goodies into the package. Then wait for the headlines that compare you unfavorably to Georgia, whose governor just vetoed a related “religious freedom” bill. You then become the headquarters for boycotts and petitions on one side and thankful prayers on the other. And, just like that, watch a once touted label as a progressive outpost in the South disappear.

– See more at: http://www.rollcall.com/news/opinion/north-carolina-lgbt-bill-political-personal#sthash.zKuDL6WC.dpuf

House Bill 2 and What It Means for North Carolina


CHARLOTTE, NC — House Bill 2 continues to divide North Carolina and is drawing a lot of criticism from around the country. WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis breaks down the economic and political implications that House Bill 2 could have on the state and right here in Charlotte.

LGBT equality is an ‘American value’ — the theme of HRC North Carolina gala

CHARLOTTE – The scene looked like any formal event, from prom and beyond, with couples patiently waiting in line, ready to take a turn posing and smiling in front of a backdrop and getting that photo snapped to show they were there. On Saturday, that event was the Human Rights Campaign 2014 North Carolina Gala, and the more than 1,000 in attendance wanted to show they were there, supporting LGBT equality.

The star-studded crowd was a mix of politicians, celebrities — in the case of congressional hopeful Clay Aiken, a bit of both — visitors from across the country, many with North Carolina connections, and citizens of a Southern state that illustrates progress and challenges when it comes to working toward HRC goals.

The theme was how those goals reflect North Carolina and American values, as speaker after speaker emphasized.