A troubling new report by the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) highlights a new trend among those seeking to attack the LGBTQ community – attempts to silence supporters of LGBTQ people.
Historically, the Republican-controlled NC state legislature has included millions for fake abortion clinics in our state budgets, and after months of delays, the newly passed state budget for 2023-24 is no different. Nearly $26 million in funding is headed to a variety of religious organizations, including direct grants to specific churches as well as even more funding for fake abortion clinics often called “crisis pregnancy centers”.
North Carolina has seen an increase in gun violence, with firearms becoming the leading cause of death for children. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 1,839 deaths occurred in North Carolina due to firearms in 2021; marking the state for the 19th highest rate in the country.
Some of the year’s hottest weather occurred throughout the summer in North Carolina, with temperatures reaching high 90s and heat indexes pushing over 110. The extreme heat is a risk for workers across the state, especially as North Carolina has little to no regulations to protect workers.
National and local LGBTQ+ groups have sued North Carolina over the ban on gender affirming care for minors passed by Republicans earlier this year. The lawsuit was filed in federal court by Lambda Legal and several other groups on the grounds that House Bill 808 violates the 14th Amendment by discriminating against transgender individuals and infringes on the rights of parents to make medical decisions with their children, according to the News & Observer.
After being held up for months by state Republican lawmakers’ protracted dispute over the state budget, The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has gotten the final federal approval to launch Medicaid Expansion.
In the month after Republicans in the state legislature implemented a sweeping abortion ban, abortions in the state have fallen 31%, according to a new analysis from the Guttmacher Institute.
Gun violence is on the rise at high school football games, and its worrisome trend is impacting several local high schools.
The latest North Carolina state budget included massive investments in mental health services, in part thanks to federal Covid relief funds, as well as the $1.4 billion sign-on bonus the state received for expanding medicaid. Legislators worked closely with Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley and visited patients and providers across the state for their input, according to NC Health News.
According to the state Department of Health and Human Services, overdose deaths in the state increased by 22% in 2021, to more than 4,000. For 2022, data from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner showed a 7% increase in suspected overdose deaths.