Last week, North Carolina managed to once again distinguish itselfand once again, not in a particularly good way. (And no, we’re not talking about that state representative who went all Godwin’s Law about Abraham Lincoln. See next item.) The problem this time wasn’t so much what we did but what we haven’t done. On April […]
Erica Hellerstein
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Why Hasn’t the NCGOP Condemned Larry Pittman’s Lincoln-Hitler Comparison?
If you’ve been following along, you might be aware that state Representative Larry Pittman, R-Carrabus, who recently introduced a doomed bill to make gay marriage illegal no matter what the Supreme Court says, has revealed his true colors yet again—this time, via a Facebook post that claimed Abraham Lincoln was the “same sort of tyrant” […]
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Congrats, North Carolina. You’re Now the Last State to Prosecute Sixteen- and Seventeen-Year-Olds as Adults
Hats off to you, North Carolina. You’ve put yourself on the map for all the wrong reasons once again. No, we’re not talking about the absurd bill filed yesterday to make gay marriage illegal (Supreme Court, Shmupreme Court, amirite?), or the industry-protecting hog-farm bill moving quickly through the legislature, or even the faux-HB 2 repeal […]
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Seeking Embarrassment, Republican Representatives Introduce Bill to Make Gay Marriage Illegal Again
It hasn’t even been two weeks since the legislature green-lighted the fake HB 2 repeal and already some of our lawmakers are feeling antsy. Hold our Pepsi, Kendall Jenner. It’s time to embarrass the state once again with homophobic legislation. Peeved by that whole marriage equality thing, Republican Representatives Michael Speciale, Larry Pittman, Mike Clampitt, […]
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Stripped of Its Most Controversial Provision, Hog-Farm-Protection Bill Passes House
A controversial hog-farm-protection bill that’s quickly moving through the legislature passed its third House reading this evening after more than an hour of debate and is now headed to the Senate—with one important change. As the INDY previously reported, HB 467 would protect hog farmers from lawsuits filed by their neighbors. It would shield agricultural […]
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Big Pork Protection Bill Clears Judiciary Committee, Former Hog Farmer Goes on Epic Rant
A bill being fast-tracked through the legislature that would shield the hog industry from nuisance lawsuits cleared the House Judiciary Committee this afternoon and could get a vote in the full House as early as tomorrow. As the INDY reported last week, HB 467 is moving quickly despite concerns that it would affect pending litigation […]
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Lipstick on a Pig: Fifty-three Weeks of HB 2, and the Day That Gave Us HB 2.0
Awary Roy Cooper walks in front of the red-carpeted stairs of the Executive Mansion and readies himself to deliver the news. It’s hard to tell who looks more thoroughly depleted—Cooper, eyes downcast, in a blue tie and crisp suit, or the gaggle of reporters covering the utter dysfunction that has come to define the General […]
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Raleigh State Representative Duane Hall Defends His Vote for HB 142: “This Was the Toughest Vote I’ve Ever Had”
After two long and dysfunctional days inside the legislature, the HB 2 debacle is finally over. Now we’re left with HB 142, a bill that’s far from the clean repeal Cooper promised. The new bill has incensed activists and advocacy groups that have been fighting for HB 2’s repeal since the day it passed last […]
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Bill Would Protect Hog Farmers From Lawsuits; Activists and Neighbors Aren’t Pleased
State Representative Jimmy Dixon, R-Wayne and Duplin, the first to speak during a packed committee hearing inside the legislature Wednesday, kicked things off with a rather strange request. “I want to take us back a few years, to 1859, when soon-to-be President Abraham Lincoln addressed the opening day of the Wisconsin Agriculture Fair,” he said. […]
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Tonight: Vigil for Raleigh Father of Seven Facing Deportation
Community members will host a vigil tonight for Vicente Marcial Noyola, a local father of seven U.S. citizen children who is currently being held at the Wake County Detention Center. Noyola was detained on March 7 after failing to appear in court for driving with a revoked license, according to the advocacy group Alerta Migratoria. […]