North Carolina: Last News

The Southern Baptist Convention's top managerial body voted on Tuesday to cut ties with two congregations — an LGBTQ-friendly church in North Carolina, which left the denomination decades ago, and one in New Jersey cited for unspecified alleged discrimination.After the two-day conference in Nashville, the executive committee voted, despite being under investigation by the Department of Justice, the Associated Press reports. The federal government is believed to have begun investigating the Southern Baptist Convention after a consultancy uncovered sexual abuse within the organization, followed by mistreatment of survivors by church officials. Though the DOJ didn't confirm reports about the subject of its investigation, the organization has suggested it was, according to the news wire.Tuesday's voting committee proclaimed that the College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro failed to be in compliance because of its "open affirmation, approval and endorsement of homosexual behavior."The College Park congregation had voted to leave the Southern Baptist Convention in 1999, the AP reports, and its website declares it's not a part of the organization but is a member of more progressive Baptist associations.The church website reflects a mission of inclusivity and affirmation, stating, "Our church family in Greensboro welcomes and affirms all persons without distinction regarding race, ethnicity, national origin, class, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other category created by humans.

As monkeypox, or MPV, continues to spread primarily among gay, bi, and queer men and men who have sex with men, local communities are implementing a new Biden administration pilot program to get MPV vaccines into at-risk peoples' arms at large gatherings. This weekend, the Mecklenburg Health Department was the first to roll out the new program as more than 275,000 people attended events during Charlotte Pride, and while many said information about the vaccine availability was lacking, officials are satisfied with the results.During a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Mecklenburg County Health Department director Dr.

As part of the Biden administration’s ongoing effort to curb the spread of monkeypox (MPV), the Department of Health and Human Services has launched an outreach program to provide vaccines at large LGBTQ+ gatherings across the country.During a pilot program, HHS will make additional vaccine allocations available to states and local health departments that host events primarily attended by men who have sex with men.For the program, jurisdictions can use 50,000 doses reserved from the Strategic National Stockpile and their existing vaccine allocations and supplies, according to a White House announcement of the program. The amount available depends on the jurisdiction’s size, nature, and ability to reach attendees at risk of contracting MPV.“We’re asking the requests to include a component of how they will promote education and awareness, as well as how they will address health equity in delivery of both messaging as well as vaccine,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr.

A post shared by Madison Cawthorn (@madisoncawthorn)Madison Cawthorn woke up to some pretty crappy news today. And by “pretty crappy news” we actually mean he’s facing a possible $17,000 fine from the Federal Election Commission.The outgoing anti-LGBTQ congressman, who recently voted against codifying same-sex marriage into federal law, reportedly burned through more money than he actually had in his campaign accounts earlier this year and now the FEC is coming for him.

The U.S. has seen increased violence in recent years, and a specific path has emerged. It begins with poisonous rhetoric that inspires individuals and groups to engage in violent behavior.

A North Carolina Catholic woman says she was denied a job at a local Catholic school because she is transgender, despite being qualified to work in a classroom.A family hired Wilhelmina Indermaur to be an in-school aide for their child who has disabilities at Immaculata Catholic School in Durham, local TV station WTVD reports. Indermaur had been hired as an independent contractor by the child’s family because the girl would start school at Immaculata in the fall, according to Indy Week. Besides knowing the child’s needs, the 30-year-old had experience as an educator, having graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and taught for three years before the pandemic.She was also deeply rooted in Immaculata, having nannied for several children who went to the school. She also regularly attended Mass at the school's governing parish, Immaculate Conception.Indermaur said she was delighted when the student’s parents asked her to be an in-class aide.

There is still hope that Democrats can convince ten Republican senators to join them in codifying marriage equality, even though two Republicans once considered amenable to voting for it have come out against it.Four Republicans have so far said they will support the measure: sponsors Susan Collins of Maine and Ohio’s Rob Portman; Sen. Thom Tillis from North Carolina, who said he's a probable vote; and Sen.

total of such deaths to 17.Sasha Mason, a 45-year-old Latina, was shot to death during a robbery at her home in Zebulon, N.C. The attack took place May 13 but is only now being reported outside the region, Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents notes. Also, local coverage misgendered and deadnamed her, so she was not initially recognized as trans.Mason lived in an apartment behind her mother’s home, TV station WNCN reports.

North Carolina was disrupted by members of the local Proud Boys group, but reports differ as to the severity of the protest and the actions of the local sheriff.The incident took place Tuesday in a private room at the Pine Valley Library in Wilmington where local drag queens were reading stories to children. Deputies from the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office (NHCSO) were called after reported members of the Cape Fear Proud Boys demonstrated outside the library.

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Kadel v. Folwell, in which several current and former state employees and their dependents sued after the North Carolina State Health Plan, which covers state workers, denied coverage for their medically necessary gender-affirming care. They are represented by Lambda Legal and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.

announced on Facebook that he had met with the Apex Festival Commission concerning feedback he’d received about the story hour and that the commission had decided to cancel that part of the fest. Other activities will go on as planned, including some drag performances, area TV station WNCN reports.He did not offer details about the feedback, but Apex Town Council member Audra Killingsworth included more information in a comment on the post.“We have had many emails sent to us at Council complaining about the drag story hour event,” she wrote.

announced on Facebook that he had met with the Apex Festival Commission concerning feedback he’d received about the story hour and that the commission had decided to cancel that part of the fest. Other activities will go on as planned, including some drag performances, area TV station WNCN reports.He did not offer details about the feedback, but Apex Town Council member Audra Killingsworth included more information in a comment on the post.“We have had many emails sent to us at Council complaining about the drag story hour event,” she wrote.

News & Observer reports.In a statement linked on social media, Moore said he immediately contacted the school’s principal who confiscated the flashcards in question after confirming with the teacher they had been used in class as reported. Lisa Luten, a spokesperson for the Wake County School District, confirmed to the paper that the teacher resigned Friday.

“don’t say gay” bill, following several other GOP-led states. The legislation, which is currently going through Senate committees, would prohibit teaching students about gender or sexuality during early elementary school.It could also require school employees to out LGBTQ+ students in any grade level, according to Raleigh’s The News & Observer.LGBTQ+ advocates and other critics of the bill, HB755, have called it anti-LGBTQ, but Republican lawmakers say they are supporting parents, not being discriminatory.“It has no place in the K-3 curriculum,” state Sen.

North Carolina in a military family.Milbern began advocating for disability rights at 16, according to Google. And in 2005, she coined disability justice with other activists.

WLOS.The district leans Republican, but Beach-Ferrara could win in November if there is high turnout in Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, and if some other counties could be flipped to the Democrats, Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper told the station.Beach-Ferrara was one of The Advocate’s Champions of Pride in 2021. “I am most proud to be part of the community that is on the frontlines of the extraordinary organizing that is happening across the South to defeat anti-trans legislation and to be following the leadership of trans folks in these efforts — not just to defeat bills, but to stand with trans youth in particular and make sure they know they are loved, celebrated, and part of a community,” she said at the time.There were several other notable victories for LGBTQ+ candidates Tuesday.

Tina Kotek, the current Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, as the party’s nominee for governor.Kotek, who may be slightly favored in the general election in the Democratic-leaning state, is now on track to become one of the first out lesbian governors in U.S. history, along with Maura Healey, the Massachusetts Attorney General who is now running to be the Bay State’s next governor.If successful in November, Kotek will succeed Gov.

Charlotte, N.C., after she says she was outed by her golf coach while she was a student in 2018.In the lawsuit, the woman states that she was humiliated and suffered from depression over being forced out. She also says that it resulted in her being sexually harassed, according to local TV station WSOC.

a rising star in the MAGA movement, is no stranger to scandal — and now it seems he may be on the verge of losing the support of former President Donald Trump himself.Following a series of disclosures around Cawthorn’s conduct — some involving sexual imagery and wearing lingerie, with some observers speculating they were released to raise questions about his sexuality and stoke homophobia — Trump is disappointed and found it “gross,” according to reporting by Rolling Stone.While the former president hasn't pulled his endorsement, “he wants to sit back and see what happens,” a source told the magazine. “But he’s been disappointed with Madison and thinks he has problems handling his [public relations],” they added, particularly about the photos and videos that have been released.Another source told Rolling Stone that Trump was shocked and disgusted by the footage, going so far as to ask if Cawthorn was “f***ing his cousin,” who appears in one of the videos where Cawthorn talks about sex.“President Trump is completely weirded out by the allegations,” a third source told the publication.While this latest round of controversy involving Cawthorne might not be sitting well with Trump, it’s far from the first time the representative has faced backlash for his actions.

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One of Madison Cawthorn‘s ex-staffers is throwing a little tea party and everyone’s invited.In a leaked phone recording released this week, Lisa Wiggins, who worked as a case worker and campaign aide to the anti-LGBTQ congressman before she was fired, described her ex-boss as a “habitual liar” and a “bad person.”Wiggins made the remarks to David Wheeler, the co-founder of a PAC nicknamed Fire Madison Cawthorn.“He’s a habitual liar and he’s going to say and do anything he can to your face but behind your back he’s completely opposite,” Wiggins said. “People need to know how this man really is… He’s still got a lot of people fooled.”Wiggins just filed a workplace complaint against Cawthorn, who recently took to Twitter to spout his belief that “there’s only one God and two genders”, of violating the Family and Medical Leave Act by rejecting her request to take leave when she was going through a family crisis.There’s only one God and two genders.

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Update 3/23/22: Fezco has a new home and a new name. A gay North Carolina couple, Steve Nichols and John Winn, adopted the dog and renamed him Oscar after the queer Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde.In an interview with The Charlotte Observer, Nichols told the outlet that they felt an instant connection to the animal.

WCCB.The dog, Fezco, is about four or five years old, the shelter wrote. He gets along with people and other animals.

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WCCB Charlotte it was now looking for foster carers for Fezco while he awaits adoption. Anyone interested can call (704) 986-3881.Same-sex behavior has been observed in around 1,500 different animal species, including dogs.Related: Gay penguin couple steal eggs from lesbian birds in order to become dadsSome animals, such as penguins have been observed to form long-lasting same-sex pairings and raise adopted chicks together.

ABOVE: Happy 62nd to Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes to Hollywood. I, of course, loved them at the time, but I never became enough of a fan to deeply investigate the group's history. Holy shit, this (restored) perf they gave at Hope & Anchor 40 years ago is fucking HARD. Holly had a crazy body under his later, label-mandated sarcastic preppy look! Also, love this earlier version of “Relax.” The “I don't wanna die!” is haunting in light of the impending AIDS epidemic.

Plaintiffs include (from left) Max Kadel and Julia McKeown. Courtesy Lambda Legal/TLDEFThe Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from the North Carolina State Health Plan, therefore letting stand a lower court’s ruling that the plan can indeed be sued over denial of gender-affirming health care to state employees and their dependents.Lambda Legal and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund are suing the plan on behalf of several state employees over its blanket exclusion of such care, saying the plan violates the Affordable Care Act’s ban on discrimination. State officials contended the plan was protected from such suits because of sovereign immunity, “the legal doctrine that precludes bringing a lawsuit against the state without its consent,” as Lambda Legal explains.

WNCN.This time around, Aiken is running in a more liberal district. The newly redrawn 6th District, which includes much of the territory that’s now represented by U.S. Rep.

Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest LGBTQ+ chambers within the region advocating for equitable change within the workplace and economy, said that NASCAR will become the group's DE&I partner for 2022, according to a press release.“NASCAR has a rich history in our region and continues to be one of the most popular sports in the nation,” Tiffany Keaton, the vice-chair of the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, said. “The intentionality of their partnership will allow the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber to leverage relationships and increase our work in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion.Keaton added that the partnership with NASCAR shows the race car league's “commitment to equality and non-discrimination both on and off the track.” “NASCAR is excited to partner with the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce,” Brandon Thompson, NASCAR’s vice president of diversity and inclusion, said in the release.

The Charlotte Observer.Robinson criticized Right Wing Watch, a project of People for the American Way, saying they would post video of the sermon to attack him. Right Wing Watch eventually did post a video clip of the sermon on its site.“In America, you have the right to be a homosexual.

The News & Observer in Charlotte, Robinson said in a sermon on November 14 at Berean Baptist Church in Winston-Salem that straight couples are “superior” to gay couples because a straight couple could potentially sexually reproduce. Robinson, a Republican, is expected to run for governor in 2024. Ron Baity, the church’s pastor, introduced Robinson, calling him “a breath of fresh air here in North Carolina” and said he would be “the next governor of the state of North Carolina.”Robinson told the congregation that gays are equivalent to “what the cows leave behind” as well as “maggots” and “flies.” He added that all of these things serve some purpose in God’s creation. “If homosexuality is of God, what purpose does it serve? What does it

video of his speech shows him questioning the purpose of being gay.“If homosexuality is of God, what purpose does it serve? What does it make? What does it create? It creates nothing,” he told the congregation, reports the Charlotte Observer.He said he didn’t want to explain to his grandchildren why two men were kissing if they saw it on television.Robinson compared being gay to “what the cows leave behind,” and maggots and flies, who he said all serve a purpose in God’s creation.He went on to say a gay man once asked him: “So you think your wife and you, you think your heterosexual relationship is superior to my husband and my homosexual relationship?”“Yes!” he bellowed to the congregation.

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a federal lawsuit Tuesday that challenges North Carolina’s requirement that forces trans people to undergo gender-affirmation surgery to have their birth certificate changed to reflect their proper gender identity.“It’s dehumanizing and demoralizing being denied a birth certificate that reflects who I am. I cannot afford surgery and do not have access to surgery through my health insurance,” plaintiff Lillith Campos, 45, who is a transgender woman from Jacksonville, N.C., said in a press release.“It is wrong for North Carolina to require that I obtain surgery in order for them to recognize me as the woman I am,” Campos continued.

Kyle A. Turner, a military veteran, has dedicated his career to military and U.S. government civilian service and resides in North Carolina with his husband and daughter. He may be reached at: kyleturner63@aol.com

Right Wing Watch, a project of People for the American Way that documents and catalogues videos, recordings, and other media highlighting the actions, incendiary rhetoric, and lies or misrepresentations made by conservative politicians and activists, was the first to share the clip of Robinson’s speech at Asbury Baptist.Among the assertions Robinson made in his speech were that public schools teach children how to “hate America,” that they overemphasize issues of racial and cultural diversity and unfairly label (presumably white) people as “racist,” and that they unnecessarily expose children to issues related to homosexuality and “transgenderism.” He said that exposing children to such content is  tantamount to child abuse.“There’s no

Related: North Carolina’s Lt. Gov. calls homosexuality “filth”, says guns are gift from GodThe comments prompted calls from some fellow lawmakers that Robinson, who took office earlier this year, resign.Yesterday, on his Facebook page, Graham stood by Robinson.“Mark Robinson, the Lt.

The Washington Blade. “The role of a leader is to bring people together and stand up for the dignity and rights of everyone; not to spread hate and undermine their own office.”The White House’s condemnation comes as lawmakers in N.C.

Related: Gay couple refused wedding service by North Carolina venueRight Wing Watch reported on Robinson’s recent speech at the North Carolina Faith & Freedom Coalition’s “Salt & Light Conference.” At this, he said America was a “Christian Nation” and anybody who didn’t like it was free to leave: “I’ll buy your plane, train, or automobile ticket right up out of here.”He went on to say schools could avoid shootings by teaching more about Jesus.“If you had let God come in that building before that shooting, if you had told those students, ‘Jesus Christ is the way and the light, and only through him can you receive salvation,’ there wouldn’t have been no school shooting.”Robinson has got a lot to say about school curriculum.

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