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August 2023

4 entries from August 2023.

Aug 16

North Carolina overrode Cooper's veto to enact S49, restricting K-4 gender-identity instruction and mandating parental notice of pronoun changes

On August 16, 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly voted along party lines to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of Senate Bill 49, the "Parents' Bill of Rights," enacting it as Session Law 2023-106. The law bars instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality in kindergarten-through-fourth-grade classrooms and requires school personnel to notify a parent before any change in the name or pronoun used for a student.

North Carolina legislature overrode Cooper's veto to enact H808 banning gender-affirming care for minors

On August 16, 2023, North Carolina's Republican-led General Assembly overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of House Bill 808, enacting Session Law 2023-111. The law prohibits medical professionals from initiating puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, or surgical gender-transition procedures for anyone under 18 not already receiving such care as of August 1, 2023. The House completed its override 73-46 and the Senate 27-18, both clearing the required three-fifths margin.

North Carolina legislature overrode Gov. Cooper's veto to enact H574 transgender sports ban

On August 16, 2023, the North Carolina House of Representatives (74-45) and Senate (27-18) voted to override Governor Roy Cooper's veto of House Bill 574, the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act," enacting it as Session Law 2023-109. The law bars students whose sex was recorded male at birth from female and women's middle-school, high-school, and collegiate athletic teams, defines sex by reproductive biology at birth, and creates civil causes of action, effective for the 2023-2024 school year.

Aug 11

Marion Police Department raided Marion County Record newsroom and homes of its publisher and a former city council member

On August 11, 2023, Marion, Kansas police under Chief Gideon Cody raided the offices of the Marion County Record and the homes of publisher Eric Meyer and former city council member Ruth Herbel, seizing computers, cellphones and reporting materials. Cody said he was investigating whether the paper had committed identity theft by checking a local restaurant owner's state driving record, which special prosecutors later found was accessible to the public without falsifying identity. Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey withdrew the search warrants five days later, saying insufficient evidence tied the alleged crime to what was searched and seized.