Tag Archives: North Carolina

It’s just school bathrooms Dan Patrick really cares about

Posted on December 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So claims a surrogate, who may have been floating a trial balloon. An incoming state senator suggested Thursday that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will focus on schools, not businesses or sporting venues, as he crafts an already controversial proposal to … Continue reading →

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More on the cost of a bathroom bill

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever one thinks of the Texas Association of Business, you have to hand it to them for their lobbying focus on the great potty issue. With the legislative session just weeks ahead, the Texas business community is digging in its … Continue reading →

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How much is that bathroom bill worth to you, Danny?

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Is it worth $8.5 billion and 185,000 jobs? The Texas economy stands to lose $8.5 billion and 185,000 jobs if anti-LGBT legislation passes in next year’s session, according to an analysis from the Texas Association of Business, the state’s chamber … Continue reading →

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Business owners tell Dan Patrick to back off on bathrooms

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

More like this, please. Saying Texas Republican leaders are threatening jobs and the economy, more than 200 small-business owners issued an open letter Tuesday urging legislators to abandon plans for a state law targeting transgender bathrooms. The letter described “a … Continue reading →

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How anti-business does Dan Patrick have to be for businesses to oppose him?

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I remain skeptical that there is such a threshold, but if one does exist, the next legislative session will test it. The Texas Association of Business (TAB) has formally come out against discriminatory anti-LGBT legislation, including so-called “bathroom bills.” The … Continue reading →

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ACC makes it three

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So long, North Carolina. Just two days after the NCAA announced they were moving scheduled tournaments out of North Carolina in protest of the state’s anti-LGBTQ House Bill 2, the Atlantic Coast Conference—which includes North Carolina’s biggest Division I programs … Continue reading →

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Patrick whines about NCAA decision to pull events from North Carolina

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Poor baby. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick criticized the NCAA on Tuesday for its decision to pull seven of its championship events from the state of North Carolina. The action came after North Carolina passed a law regulating the use … Continue reading →

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NCAA removes all championship games for 2016 and 2017 from North Carolina

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Actions, they have consequences. Based on the NCAA’s commitment to fairness and inclusion, the Association will relocate all seven previously awarded championship events from North Carolina during the 2016-17 academic year. The NCAA Board of Governors made this decision because of the cumulative actions taken … Continue reading →

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Texas begins its voter ID education outreach

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

For what it’s worth. Texas on Wednesday kicked off a voter education campaign ahead of the November elections amid heightened scrutiny of the state’s voter ID law. Under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and minority rights groups, … Continue reading →

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Texas to appeal voter ID ruling to SCOTUS

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, whatever. Texas plans to file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging a lower court decision that found the state’s voter ID law discriminates against minorities. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office said Tuesday it will appeal the ruling … Continue reading →

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Friday was a very good day for voting rights

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In North Carolina: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s opinion in North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP v. McCrory is nothing short of a beat down. The court does not simply tear apart major provisions … Continue reading →

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NCAA lays down a marker on anti-LGBT legislation

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Hope the Lege is paying attention, because they can’t say they haven’t been warned. The NBA and NCAA may have just dealt a preemptive, one-two knockout punch to anti-LGBT bills in the upcoming Texas Legislature, which convenes in January. First, … Continue reading →

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NBA pulls 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Bam! The NBA issued the following statement Thursday regarding the 2017 NBA All-Star Game: “The NBA has decided to relocate the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte with the hope of rescheduling for 2019. “Since March, when North Carolina enacted HB2 … Continue reading →

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What will the NBA do with Charlotte?

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We are still waiting to see if NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will follow through with a threat to move the NBA All-Star Game out of Charlotte after North Carolina passed its odious anti-LGBT law HB2. Houston’s 2015 defeat of Proposition … Continue reading →

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First potty case reaches SCOTUS

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. The legal fight over transgender bathroom rights reached the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time on Wednesday as a Virginia county school board sought to block an order that lets a student who was born a … Continue reading →

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More opposition to North Carolina’s HB2

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Justice Department seeks to halt implementation of North Carolina’s viciously anti-LGBT law. The billowing legal fight over North Carolina’s House Bill 2 continued to grow this week with the U.S. Department of Justice asking a federal judge to suspend … Continue reading →

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Patrick doubles down on potty politics

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s potties all the way down. Declaring that “this fight is just beginning,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Tuesday escalated his battle against guidelines in Texas and across the country that allow students to use the bathroom that corresponds with … Continue reading →

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Federal action on schools accommodating transgender bathroom use

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see this. The Obama administration is planning to issue a sweeping directive telling every public school district in the country to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity. A letter to school districts … Continue reading →

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Republican attorneys general file briefs in support of Texas’ voter ID law

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Birds of a feather. Fifteen Republican-controlled states are wading into the contentious court fight over Texas’ voter ID law, arguing in a legal brief that similar laws around the country have already been upheld by the courts. […] Ahead of … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick supports potty package check legislation

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Of course he does. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, weighing into a national controversy over transgender restrooms, said Tuesday he supports keeping men out of women’s restrooms, even if it takes legislation to do so. Since the issue erupted into controversy … Continue reading →

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Why North Carolina and not Houston?

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

John Nova Lomax asks why Houston has not suffered the same backlash as North Carolina after the repeal of HERO last November. In the aftermath of the repeal of Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance in November, the bill’s proponents predicted dire economic consequences. … Continue reading →

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Once again with “religious freedom” legislation

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. State Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, says he plans to re-file legislation next session that would supplement the state’s existing law to allow business owners to refuse services to people whose lifestyles … Continue reading →

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What will the business lobby do to prevent a North Carolina anti-equality law being passed in Texas?

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the question that needs to be asked. Texas business leaders and LGBT advocates hope economic backlash over an anti-LGBT bill in North Carolina will deter lawmakers from taking up similar legislation next year in Austin. More than 100 CEOs and … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed against North Carolina anti-equality law

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That was fast. It took only one day for North Carolina’s legislature to pass the country’s most sweeping anti-LGBT bill (HB2), and only four days after that for Lambda Legal and the ACLU of North Carolina to file a lawsuit … Continue reading →

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North Carolina takes a big step backwards on equality

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Shameful. Wednesday was a whirlwind day in North Carolina’s government. The legislature convened a special session, a complicated multi-part bill was introduced, it passed through the House and Senate — both Republican controlled — and Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed … Continue reading →

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New hope against the sonogram law?

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Possible new hope, but not any time soon. Attorneys who represented Texas doctors in a lawsuit against the state’s 2011 abortion sonogram law are considering their legal options following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Monday decision not to revive a similar … Continue reading →

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Another redistricting update

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Once again from Russ Tidwell, writing at Letters from Texas. The three judge federal panel in San Antonio is nearing a final decision on redistricting litigation for the Texas House and congressional delegation. As previously discussed here, multiple weeks of … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS rejects North Carolina redistricting

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. On Monday, the Supreme Court vacated a ruling from North Carolina’s highest court that had upheld Republican-drawn maps of the state’s congressional and legislative districts. While we don’t yet know what the final outcome will be, the court’s … Continue reading →

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Court strikes down Texas voter ID law

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Boom. Less than two weeks before the start of early voting, a federal judge ruled the state’s photo voter ID law unconstitutional late Thursday and ordered state officials to drop the new requirements. “The Court holds that SB 14 creates … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial starts today

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As one trial ends, the next one begins. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos in Corpus Christi will begin hearing arguments Tuesday on one of the nation’s most stringent voter ID measures, which Republican Gov. Rick Perry signed into law … Continue reading →

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Judge rules that the voter ID lawsuit will go to trial

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the start of the redistricting trial, we have some news on the voter ID lawsuit front, and it’s generally good news for the good guys. Last week’s ruling, in which U.S. District Court Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos … Continue reading →

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Students against voter ID

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A new front is opened in the fight against voter ID. Civil rights groups have spent a decade fighting requirements that voters show photo identification, arguing that this discriminates against African-Americans, Hispanics and the poor. This week in a North … Continue reading →

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The money is the problem

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A story of interest from North Carolina. The ad first appeared on television the Friday before last, a black-and-white spot charging that Justice Robin Hudson coddled child molesters and “sided with the predators” in a North Carolina Supreme Court dissent. … Continue reading →

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No hiding behind privilege

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your latest voter ID litigation update, from the Brad Blog: Just over a week ago, it was North Carolina legislators ordered by the court to cough up documentation relating to passage of new, draconian restrictions on voting rights in their state. … Continue reading →

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