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Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts helped spearhead the city’s transgender rights ordinance that state officials fought with a law that the Justice Department is now fighting in court. (Katie Zezima/The Washington Post) This post has been updated CHARLOTTE — Shahrzad McNaughton is proud to be from North Carolina — the first tattoo she ever got was an interpretation of this city’s crown logo surrounded by dogwoods, the state flower. But since North Carolina passed a law that rolled back rights for gay, lesbian and transgender people, she has soured on the state she has called home for most of her life. “I’m proud to be a North Carolinian , but I’m ashamed of the legislation,” said McNaughton, 26, who was drinking beer on a patio on a muggy spring night , a dog curled up in her lap. “I’m ashamed of this state, and I hate to say that.” A non- discrimination ordinance passed in this city sparked the law, which became the subject of the highest levels of legal volleying Monday whe...

Less than two months after failing to pass a “bathroom bill” restricting access for transgender people , Texas lawmakers are trying again amid fierce opposition from Democrats, civil rights groups and leading businesses. A special legislative session will start on Tuesday in Austin. Among the main items on the agenda is a measure to limit transgender access to restrooms and changing facilities. The issue is the latest battleground in the conflict in Texas between moderate, pragmatic Republicans and far-right, ideologically driven conservatives emboldened by the rise of Donald Trump. That clash is embodied by antipathy between two of the state’s most important politicians: Joe Straus, speaker of the House and a relative moderate, and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick , a Christian conservative who was the state chairman of Trump’s presidential campaign. Passing a bathroom bill is a top priority for Patrick. In a sign of the pressure being placed on moderates as Texas politics lurche...

More nonsense to destroy white society/Western Civilization. Excerpted From The Guardian: Less than two months after failing to pass a “bathroom bill” restricting access for transgender people , Texas lawmakers are trying again amid fierce opposition from Democrats, civil rights groups and leading businesses. A special legislative session will start on Tuesday in Austin. Among the main items on the agenda is a measure to limit transgender access to restrooms and changing facilities. The issue is the latest battleground in the conflict in Texas between moderate, pragmatic Republicans and far-right, ideologically driven conservatives emboldened by the rise of Donald Trump. That clash is embodied by antipathy between two of the state’s most important politicians: Joe Straus, speaker of the House and a relative moderate, and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick , a Christian conservative who was the state chairman of Trump’s presidential campaign. Passing a bathroom bill is a top priorit...

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf also took to Twitter, saying, “I'll do everything I can to make sure Pennsylvania remains a place where everyone feels welcome.” I'll do everything I can to make sure Pennsylvania remains a place where everyone feels welcome. #WeAreNotThis https://t.co/5AsjovrAGT — Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) February 23, 2017 The reversal is a setback for transgender rights groups , which had been urging Trump to keep the guidelines in place. Advocates say federal law will still prohibit discrimination against students based on their gender or sexual orientation. Still, they say lifting the Obama directive puts children in harm's way. "Reversing this guidance tells trans kids that it's OK with the Trump administration and the Department of Education for them to be abused and harassed at school for being trans," said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. Activists protested the move Wednesday outside the White...

There's some good news out of Texas today: Legislation intended to limit transgender people 's access to bathrooms in schools and other public buildings in Texas died on Tuesday, when the state House of Representatives concluded a special session without voting on the measure. Though Texas's "bathroom bill"—or, more accurately, a series of bills meant to limit the rights of transgender individuals and require them to use the restrooms, showers, and locker rooms in public facilities that coordinate with the sex on their birth certificate—had the support of Governor Greg Abbott and many Republican state representatives , plenty of business leaders and civil rights groups fought to keep the bill from making its way into law. While the special session of the Texas House was scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, House Speaker Joe Strauss , a probusiness Republican, concluded the assembly a day early, effectively blocking the bills from making their way to a vote. Thoug...

In the end, the controversial bathroom bill went quietly.  For more than a year, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick led the crusade for a state law to regulate bathroom use for transgender Texans — an initiative that resonated with social conservatives, including many pastors, who backed him up. Patrick for months stood firm in his pursuit for a bathroom bill even while similar campaigns in other states fizzled out.  He was met by loud opposition that only grew with time and eventually proved to be a considerable political force.  Transgender women, men and children from across Texas descended on the Capitol to testify about how the proposal — which would ban local policies that ensured transgender individuals ’ right to use public and school restrooms that match their gender identity — could endanger their lives. The business community rallied against the legislation too, giving House Speaker Joe Straus cover as he refused to negotiate with Patrick on bathroom restrictions.  That ...

Abbott did not respond to requests for comment on the dueling news conferences . His spokesman, John Wittman, said that despite tensions, the regular session is not over.  "The taxpayers deserve to have the Legislature finish their work on time," he said in a written statement. "Only the Governor can determine when or if there is a special session, and if so, what issues are addressed." Straus said he had not spoken with the governor about the House's bill, adding that the chamber on Saturday would take up the issue of property tax legislation , one of Abbott's and Patrick's other priority items. Nick Morrow, spokesman for  Human Rights Campaign , a  national LGBT rights organization , praised Straus for drawing a line in the sand. "Thousands of Texans oppose anti -transgender legislation," Morrow said. "We are glad to see Speaker Straus agrees that we need to stop wasting taxpayers ' time and money to pursue discrimination."

The Texas House of Representatives adjourned on Tuesday evening, effectively ending the special legislative session . While the Republican- controlled state legislature passed a handful of bills on Republican Gov . Greg Abbott’s conservative agenda, there was one item that did not make it to the governor’s desk: the “bathroom bill,” which would restrict the ability of transgender Texans to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. Republican lawmakers failed to gain the necessary support to pass the anti-trans legislation. One Democrat in the Texas Senate, Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr . (D-Brownsville), voted for the bill, but moderate Republicans blocked it in the house. JoDee Winterhof, senior vice president for policy and political affairs at the Human Rights Campaign , said in a statement that Texans can “breathe a temporary sigh of relief,” but warned that advocates will keep a “watchful eye” against further attacks on transgender people . Appreciate our work? Rewir...

A day before the Texas Legislature ended its special session this week, a session that included a high-profile fight over a bathroom bill that appeared almost certainly dead, David Welch had a message for Gov. Greg Abbott: call lawmakers back to Austin. Again. For years, Welch, executive director of the Texas Pastor Council , has worked to pass a bill that would ban local policies that ensured transgender individuals ’ right to use restrooms in public schools and government buildings that match their gender identity. The summer special session , which was quickly coming to a close, had been Welch and other social conservatives ’ second chance, an overtime round after the bill — denounced by critics as discriminatory and unnecessary — failed during the regular session that ended in May.   But with the Texas House unlikely to vote on a bathroom bill , Welch gathered with some of the most conservative Republicans in that chamber to make a final plea. The bill, they argued without any...