Protesters stand at the North Carolina Legislative Building ahead of a vote to override a veto of Senate Bill 382, which makes major changes to the executive branch in state government. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)
About 100 protesters packed the gallery of the North Carolina House of Representatives on Wednesday, calling on lawmakers to reject the veto override for Senate Bill 382, a controversial measure that links Helene’s relief to seismic shifts in power away from elected Democrats.
As representatives took the floor and later cast their votes, protesters hummed “This little light of mine” and held up signs and flashlights in an effort to appeal to lawmakers’ morals and get them on their side. Protesters also gathered in the gallery.
“We the people, we make it shine,” the crowd sang as lawmakers filed into the chamber for the override vote, in a twist on the classic gospel tune.
But the people didn’t get what they wanted.
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted 72-46 to override Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of the bill, allowing it to become law. The Senate rejected the bill last week.
The 131-page bill would transfer $252 million to the Hurricane Helene relief fund while making major changes to state government — most notably placing the State Board of Elections under the control of new Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek and curtailing the powers of the state government. the attorney general’s office.
Their cheers turned to resentment as the voting results came in, with protesters drowning out the legislature with chants of “shame!” The police demanded that they leave the gallery, and most complied.
However, one woman continued to shout about injustice. Three officers surrounded her and used physical force to remove and arrest her – at one point pulling her out the gallery door by the arm.
“While the individual was being arrested and held in the rooms, they were being tossed around,” said Samuel Scarborough, a UNC student organizer. “It’s completely unnecessary, it’s completely immoral.”
He added that he was supposed to speak to a lawmaker after the vote, but General Assembly police denied him access to do so because they demanded that protesters vacate the building or be arrested.
General Assembly Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The remaining demonstrators were escorted from the building. “This is the People’s House, not their house!” a woman shouted as she descended the main stairs.
Serena Sebring shouted at lawmakers from the gallery before heading outside.
“I said shame on them for betraying us,” Sebring said. “We should be ashamed that they are trying to hide this blatant power grab under the guise of disaster relief.”
The protests followed a “Moral Monday” demonstration led by Bishop William Barber II earlier this week, in which hundreds of people gathered at the State Capitol and marched past Bicentennial Plaza to the Legislative Building to deliver a letter demanding that lawmakers halt passage of the bill.
Groups represented at Wednesday’s protest included Barber’s Poor People’s Campaign, Indivisible NC, the ACLU of North Carolina and Democracy Out Loud.
The Rev. Rob Stephens, an organizer with Repairers of the Breach who often works with Barber, thanked attendees for making their voices heard.
“This will have an impact for generations. But it’s also very important that they don’t do this without a witness,” Stephens said. “We’re going to make sure that the state of North Carolina and the entire country knows what they’re doing.”
