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."