Tag search result

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan said Wednesday that she supported the right of gay people to marry, saying “we should not tell people who they can love or who they can marry.''

Hagan announced her support as the US Supreme Court heard arguments on the issue.

“I know there are strong feelings on both sides, and I have a great deal of respect for their opinions,” Hagan said in an interview. “But after much thought and prayer on my part this is where I am today.''

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: Another big day at the legislature as the legislative session nears the half-way mark and the bill filing deadline. 10 a.m.: The Senate Education Committee considers a bill to take charter school oversight authority away from the state's Department of Public Instruction and loosen requirements on the schools. Noon: House Public Utilities considers bill to stifle the state's consumer advocacy group. 1 p.m.: House Elections Committee will discuss repeal of campaign finance matching money for candidates, a measure included in the governor's budget. The committee sent a notice that the voter ID measure is on hold temporarily so it can consider other legislation, a reversal from what lawmakers planned. At the same time, the Senate Finance Committee will begin talk about taxes with discussion of a bill to reduce the burden on businesses but no votes are expected. 2 p.m.: The Carolina Panthers bill is on the House calendar. The Senate convenes simultaneously with no major bills on the desk.

Today, Gov. Pat McCrory sticks to his comfort zone for another address to another business group, this one is the N.C. Chamber's annual conference in Greensboro. Later in the day, he'll meet privately with the N.C. Sheriff's Association.

GAMBING MONEY PURGE CONTINUES: As the Morning Memo reported Tuesday, McCrory forfeited campaign contributions from a second sweepstakes company executive charged in an gambling ring. And as AP found, the purge is likely to continue: McCrory received another $8,000 in October from John Patrick Fannin and his wife, who live in Little River, South Carolina, according to records reviewed by The Associated Press. Fannin is also among the sweepstakes operators indicted by Florida prosecutors in the Allied Veteran's case. (A McCrory spokeswoman) said McCrory's campaign will review those donations, too.

***Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo. Send tips and news to dome@newsobserver.com. Much more N.C. political news and analysis below.***

Raleigh's Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the N.C. Values Coalition, spoke to a rally in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday in an event coinciding with the U.S. Supreme Court taking up the gay marriage debate.

The coalition said it was a crowd of 10,000 on the National Mall for the National March for Marriage. Fitzgerald touted North Carolina's vote last year to amend its constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

"Government recognizes marriage because it is an institution that benefits society in a way that no other relationship does," Fitzgerald reportedly said. "Marriage is rooted in the reality that children need a mother and a father."

ANOTHER GAMBLING BUST WITH N.C. TIES: On the same day Florida prosecutors busted a gambling operation that snared a company with major North Carolina political ties, an Ohio prosecutor leveled a new indictment against another sweepstakes company with Tar Heel ties.

The March 13 superseding indictment updated charges filed in May against VS2 Worldwide Communications, a company that operated illegal Internet sweepstakes gaming software, according to local news reports. The company's owners, Phillip Cornick of New Jersey and Richard Upchurch of Ramseur, face charges in Ohio of money laundering and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.

The two men and their wives contributed more than $45,000 to North Carolina political candidates -- including Gov. Pat McCrory -- with more than half coming after their initial May indictments.

HAGAN ONE OF 11 SENATE DEMOCRATS NOT TO ENDORSE GAY MARRIAGE: North Carolina's Kay Hagan remains opposed to gay marriage, even though three prominent Democrats colleagues recently shifted their stances. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday (California's Proposition 8) and Wednesday (the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA) about same-sex marriage.

**More on the VS2's campaign contributions and Hagan's stance on gay marriage below in today's Dome Morning Memo. Sends news and tips to dome@newsobserver.com. Thanks for reading.***

While North Carolina experienced a predicted blockbuster political year in 2012, the details weren't as anticipated by some.

Charlotte hosted North Carolina's first-ever major party national convention. A proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in North Carolina passed by a whopping 22 percentage points. And although it wasn't shocking that former Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory was elected governor, the ease of his victory was surprising, as was his Democratic rival - Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, not Gov. Beverly Perdue. Read AP's political year in review here.

More political headlines below:

--North Carolina’s Clean Water Management Trust Fund, which has spent nearly $1 billion to clean up polluted waters and protect untainted ones, will face a dicey future as legislators convene in January.

--The N.C. House’s new Republican majority whip believes he has the votes to stop North Carolina’s green-energy mandate – the first in the Southeast when it was enacted in 2007 – in its tracks. Rep. Mike Hager of Rutherford County views the mandate as the government unfairly “picking winners and losers” in the marketplace. As chairman of the Public Utilities committee, Hager would like to freeze it at the current 3 percent level.

Minnesota's politics are a good bit different from North Carolina, but both states find themselves in the presidential mix and debating familiar issues.

North Carolina voted on a constitutional ban on gay marriage in May. Minnesota votes Tuesday. But unlike here, a new poll from the Raleigh firm Public Policy Polling shows the 10,000 lakes state appears headed for narrow defeat.

UPDATED: The N.C. Values Coalition wasted no time in trying to capitalize on Democrats' platform supporting same-sex marriage.

The group's executive director, Tami Fitzgerald, sent an fundraising solicitation Wednesday asking supporters to "defend the amendment we fought so hard to pass in May."

The governor’s race enters a new phase Saturday when Democrat Walter Dalton and Republican Pat McCrory trade harsh words in the campaign’s first debate. Sponsored by the N.C. Bar Association, the Wilmington forum is an important milepost in the campaign, giving the candidates an opportunity to define their candidacy and separate themselves from their partisan affiliates. So far the race is defined by association.

More political headlines:

--A joint press conference on the budget this week provided a striking moment pointed toward an emerging dynamic between Phil Berger and Thom Tillis, according to many political observers, who saw subtle tears in the GOP fabric compared to a year earlier when Republican lawmakers worked closely together to move North Carolina to the ideological right. 

A number of North Carolina LGBT advocates visited the White House last week as part of a pride month reception.

President Barack Obama addressed the group, calling himself "a fellow advocate for an America where no matter what you look like or where you come from or who you love, you can dream big dreams and dream as openly as you want," according to the publication Q Notes.

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx visited Raleigh this week to meet with House Speaker Thom Tillis and talk up the Democratic National Convention. On Wednesday, he talked to Dome for a Five Questions interview about President Barack Obama's campaign, gay marriage and black voters, Republican Pat McCrory's chances against Walter Dalton and his own political future. Take a look.