This month, Governor Josh Stein vetoed three bills, his first time using his veto power since entering office in January. Stein vetoed the following bills: SB 50, Freedom To Carry NC; SB 153, North Carolina Border Protection Act; and HB 318, The Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act.
Gov. Stein, who took office in January, issued his formal objections to three measures backed by the GOP, including a bill that would eliminate the requirement for gun owners to apply for and receive a legal permit before carrying a concealed loaded firearm in public.
Minority leader Sydney Batch argued that the people of western NC cannot afford to wait. “Senator Berger wants the legislature to recess for two months while hurricane survivors are still living in uninhabitable homes, facing washed-out roads and waiting for their classrooms to reopen,” Batch said. “He may be ready for a vacation, but our neighbors in western North Carolina don’t get to take a break from this crisis.”
Thousands of people marched, chanted, honked, and carried signs and American flags across North Carolina on June 14 to protest the policies and tactics of President Donald Trump.
The lawsuits claim that lines are so skewed for GOP candidates that many Black voters cannot elect their preferred candidates, violating the Voting Rights Act. They allege the mapmakers at times submerged or spread out Black voting blocs, which historically have favored Democrats, into surrounding districts with White majorities — benefiting Republicans.
North Carolina already faces hunger at alarming levels, particularly in rural and low-income communities. The proposed cuts would mean fewer meals on the table, higher pressure on food banks, and devastating trade-offs for working families. Many food banks are already dipping into reserve funds and calling on private donors just to meet current demand—and they know worse is coming.
The NC League of Conservation Voters & BlueGreen Alliance gathered outside of Tillis’ Greensboro office to highlight the economic impacts of erasing the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, particularly emphasizing the impacts affecting North Carolinians’ jobs.
Vigils were held in Advance, Asheville, Charlotte, Greenville, Greensboro, Hendersonville, Raleigh, & Wilmington in opposition to Trump’s harmful healthcare cuts, which would jeopardize health care coverage for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians.
Dozens of North Carolinians and local advocates read banned books outside of the state’s General Assembly, protesting against several Republican proposals. Tuesday’s read-in, organized by Red, Wine & Blue, included meetings with lawmakers to share concerns about book banning, discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, attempts to erase Black and other marginalized communities in our state, and voting rights.
House Bill 127, filed by Rep. Harry Warren (R-Rowan), would make it a class 2 misdemeanor for voter registration drives to hand out registration forms. Voter registration drives, which are commonly held at political rallies, universities, and churches, assist residents with registering to vote by distributing the registration form and then delivering the completed form to the appropriate election officials.