The North Carolina house passed a bill boosting criminal penalties for burning a cross or hanging a noose in an attempt at racial intimidation by a vote of 113-1.
More info on the bill Here
The lone dissenting vote came from Republican Paul "Skip" Stam. Stam is one of the most extreme rightwing Republicans in the NC house.
Ed Ridpath is challenging Skip Stam in NC House District 37. Ed has released a statement slamming skip for his vote.
Ed Ridpath, Fuquay-Varina Democrat and Candidate for NC House 37 made the following statement today:
"On Thursday, the North Carolina House overwhelmingly passed bill S685 by a vote of 113-1. This bill makes displaying a noose, burning a cross, or wearing a hood or disguise for racial intimidation more serious crimes. For those with even a passing familiarity of our state's history, these very powerful symbols are instantly recognizable as the tools used to oppress African Americans in the Jim Crow era by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.
Disgracefully, these symbols have been used to the current day for that same purpose, with several recent newsworthy cases where State Employees were targeted. Our General Assembly was right to answer these recent incidents with this strong bi-partisan response.
Paul "Skip" Stam, the lone vote against this bill, exhibited a lack of leadership in moving our great state beyond this shameful legacy of racism and hatred. Even though Representative Stam is the Republican Minority Leader in the North Carolina House, on this issue he leads no one."
It is time to get these Jim Crow era dinosaurs like Skip Stam out of elected office. You can send Ed some mojo Here