Connect with us

Breaking: Charlotte Passes Historic Nondiscrimination Ordinance

Published

on

The Charlotte City Council just passed a historic non discrimination ordinance – governor threatens “immediate action.” 

After more than three hours of contentious debate and input by more than 140 speakers, the Charlotte, North Carolina city council passed an LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance by a 7-4 vote. Newly elected Democratic Mayor Jennifer Roberts (photo) was able to successfully usher in the ordinance despite the best efforts of organized right wing religious activists, including Franklin Graham, who calls Charlotte his home town.

“With this vote, North Carolina’s largest city has affirmed that all people deserve to be treated fairly and protected by the law,” Sarah Preston, the ACLU of North Carolina’s acting Executive Director said. “When a business decides to open its doors to the public, it should be open to everyone on the same terms. We applaud Charlotte’s council members for making their city more safe, welcoming, and inclusive, and we urge municipal leaders across the state to follow their example. Charlotte has full authority to enact this ordinance, and we hope the General Assembly will respect this local government’s decision to protect its residents and visitors from discrimination.”

“Are we a city that panders to fear and hate to those who wish to perpeuate fear and injustice?” Democrat Al Austin, who voted in favor of the ordinance, asked. “I say to you, ‘Not on my watch.’ ”

The Charlotte Business Journal notes the legislation “adds marital status, family status, sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to the existing non-discrimination rules affecting restaurants, hotels, taxis and other businesses and public areas.”

GOP Gov. Pat McCrory Monday morning threatened the state legislature would take “immediate” action should lawmakers pass the LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance. The Charlotte Observer reports the state legislature, which convene in May, “could nullify the entire ordinance as it pertains to gay, lesbian and transgender residents. That would include the bathroom provision, but also protections in places of public accommodation.”

Thanks to journalist Matt Comer for the video.

This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change. This story will be updated, and NCRM will likely publish follow-up stories on this news. Stay tuned and refresh for updates.

There's a reason 10,000 people subscribe to NCRM. You can get the news before it breaks just by subscribing, plus you can learn something new every day.
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

Trump Vows to Keep Fighting a Case the Supreme Court Just Ended

Published

on

Three years ago a civil jury held that Donald Trump was liable for sexually abusing and defaming journalist E. Jean Carroll, and awarded her $5 million, which Trump was ordered to pay. He has been fighting the case ever since.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed Trump’s efforts, refusing to review lower court rulings that upheld the civil judgment against Trump.

“Monday’s decision is a major blow to Mr. Trump, likely marking the end of his legal efforts to contest the jury verdict finding that he assaulted Ms. Carroll in the mid-1990s,” The New York Times reported.

In “E. Jean Carroll’s Defamation Win Is Now Final,” professor of law Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor known for her legal analysis on MS NOW and several podcasts, declared the case had run its course.

“The Court has officially declined Trump’s bid to have it reverse the jury’s verdict in [Carroll’s] favor in the defamation case she brought after he said she was lying about being sexually assaulted by him in a New York City department store dressing room,” Vance wrote Monday. “She wins, and the verdict stands.”

“This case is, and has always been, about a jury that believed E. Jean Carroll and thought Trump was lying. That’s the bottom line,” Vance added. “With that one simple line of text in a long order, Trump now has to pay up.”

President Trump appears to be unwilling to accept that outcome.

“Surprisingly, the Supreme Court declined to ‘review’ a Fake Case brought against me by a woman I never met (Decades old celebrity photo line, standing with her husband, does not count!),” he wrote on Truth Social. “I will continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength.”

“This Case is really against the United States of America, and all it stands for, and should never be allowed to happen to another President, or Candidate to be!” he insisted. “New York State created a Law, for an instant speck of time, going back many decades, in order to wrongfully ‘nab’ me. It was tailormade, and this Injustice cannot be allowed to stand!”

It is unclear what other means Trump believes he has to overturn the result.

“Where is he planning to continue fighting it?” one online critic asked. “The Super Duper More-Than-Supreme Court?”

 

Image via Reuters 

 

 

Continue Reading

News

‘Tremendous Loss’: Supreme Court Deals Trump Triple Blow

Published

on

The U.S. Supreme Court kicked off the closing stretch of this term with a triple blow to President Donald Trump.

In a much-watched case surrounding states’ rights and voting, the court ruled that the federal government cannot require states to toss mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by that deadline.

Trump wants to ban most voting by mail, and the Republican National Committee had sued Mississippi, which grants a five-day grace period for ballots received after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.

“The ruling, authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, is a setback for President Donald Trump, who has frequently criticized mail-in voting, claiming without offering evidence that it is rife with fraud,” NBC News reported. The votes of hundreds of thousands of Americans voting by mail were counted in the 2024 election despite being received after Election Day.

“This ruling is a big loss for Trump & GOP allies who have repeatedly claimed that ballots postmarked by Election Day – but arriving days later in the mail – should not be counted,” observed journalist Jamie Dupree. “That issue is now off the table for the 2026 midterms.”

Trump himself recognized the ruling as a “tremendous loss” just one hour after it was handed down — and he used it to again call for passage of his SAVE America Act, which critics say is a voter suppression bill.

He wrote that there was only one reason to oppose the legislation: “Cheating!”

“In a time when there is a powerful Communist Movement taking place in our Country, one more dangerous than World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or September 11th, all Dumocrats, and our five Republican Senate Hold Outs, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, and Mitch McConnell must vote to save our country,” he wrote. “There can be no more excuses!”

Trump also faced another loss on Monday, when the court ruled that the president could not fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, at least for now. NBC News called the court’s ruling a “setback” for Trump. The court did, however, grant the president greater control over other independent federal agencies, a win Trump quickly trumpeted.

“It is such an Honor to be the sitting President who won this Historic and Unprecedented Ruling, one of the most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The Supreme Court also refused to review lower-court rulings that require Trump to pay journalist E. Jean Carroll $5 million.

“A 2023 trial found President Donald Trump liable for allegedly sexually assaulting journalist E. Jean Carroll,” The Washington Post reported. “The decision Monday leaves in place a ruling affirming the judgment.”

 

Image via Reuters 

Continue Reading

News

The GOP’s Secret Plan to Save Control of Congress Relies on This One Group

Published

on

The entire GOP political ecosystem — the White House, political action committees, and Republican congressional committees — is working together to target one group of voters strategists believe can help Republicans keep control of Congress, according to a NOTUS report.

“We kind of compare notes on everything, making sure that we’re all seeing the world the same way. Which we do,” Joe Pileggi, the Congressional Leadership Fund’s political director, told NOTUS. “There’s no fragmentation in our thinking.”

NOTUS reports that the GOP believes “low-propensity voters” — those who rarely vote during the midterms — will be the key to their success. And they specifically are focusing on male, blue-collar, and Hispanic voters. Republican strategists have a new “dataset” of this group of voters, which they believe will help them know who to focus on, via a “tailored digital ad campaign targeting those voters,” an upcoming “robust mail program,” and a “voter canvassing program.”

“What we’re doing in ‘26 is mostly a continuation and refinement of what we did in ‘24 and had a lot of success with,” Michael Ambrosini, the RNC’s chief of staff, told NOTUS. “If we can reassemble that part of the president’s coalition in marginal swing House districts, you’re in a great spot.”

“None of us are overconfident at all,” Tim Saler, the chief data consultant for Trump’s successful 2024 campaign, who is now at MAGA Inc., told NOTUS. “We all respect the challenges we face and understand how difficult it is going to be to overcome history. But we know what we’re doing.”

Theresa Vaccaro, political director for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), told NOTUS, “There has never been an operation like this before.”

Vaccaro said that because the group they are targeting is much smaller, they have the opportunity to spend more time with them.

“In 2018, it was about quantity over quality,” Vaccaro said. “I would rather have a staffer out there for an hour and talk to 15 voters than you tell me you knocked on 40 doors in that hour and dropped a bunch of literature.”

Some Democrats are dismissing the GOP program.

“The GOP’s ground game is a consulting revenue stream dressed up as a turnout program,” Yasmin Radjy, executive director of the liberal group Swing Left, told NOTUS.

The question of President Donald Trump’s popularity still remains, especially with strategists focusing on GOP voters who turned out for Trump in 2024.

NOTUS reported that Trump “might not have the same appeal to some of his old supporters” after failing to lower the cost of living.

 

Image via Shutterstock

 

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2026 AlterNet Media.