Under the Dome podcast: A Durham Democrat on courts, athletes and guns
Start your week in #ncpol #ncga with our latest Under the Dome politics podcast. Dawn Vaughan here, your News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host.
For the week of July 17, 2023, I interview N.C. Rep. Marcia Morey, a Durham Democrat who is also a former judge and Olympian, and the House Democratic whip.
The Republican legislative supermajority could vote to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto this week on House Bill 574, which would ban transgender women and girls from playing on women’s sports teams in middle and high schools and universities.
Morey competed in swimming in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, but did not medal. That Olympics, she said, East German women swimmers “had all been given male hormones — testosterone — to improve their performance. And it was shown they had an unfair advantage because they had years of this steroid treatment and injections. So the women’s sports bill kind of hit home to me because we were defeated by East Germans in every event except one, by substantial margins because of performance-enhancing drugs.”
Morey voted against that and two other bills targeting transgender people that Cooper vetoed.
“I felt that the the nature of the combination of these bills were all anti-LGBTQ. I think they were mean-spirited. I think the (North Carolina) High School Association had a good way to monitor, to oversee, applications for athletes to participate in sports. I think the key is participation in sports does so much for someone’s development, and especially the middle school and the high school. And so I was opposed to that bill. I still am,” she said.
“But I think participation in middle and high school is not the world-class level. It’s not the Olympic level. It’s taking part and being on a team that matters,” Morey said.
Hear what else Morey had to say about the bills and what she described as “government intrusion.”
Morey and I also talked about her work to pass legislation around gun laws, including extreme risk protection orders. Republicans so far have not even given the legislation a committee hearing, and she said one reason is the House Freedom Caucus that opposes any gun bills.
Morey and I talked a lot about the courts.
“Being a former judge, I’m really concerned about the judicial issues contained in that budget. It gives the legislature the ability to make judicial appointments for special superior court judges,” she said.
Morey talked about proposed changes to the Judicial Standards Commission, which hears complaints about judges.
“They’re removing all the lawyers from hearing Judicial Standards complaints and giving more appointments to the chief justice, who would control 12 of the 14 appointments,” she said. “Lawyers know judges’ demeanor, ethics, when a judge is over the bounds of propriety. Why are we taking lawyers off of Judicial Standards? It’s becoming just too political,” she said.
We also talked about more power being given to the Conference of District Attorneys, what it’s like with a Republican supermajority this session, the separation of powers in branches of government, the Durham mayoral race and more.
Headliner of the Week
Stay tuned to the end for our picks for Headliner of the Week. Both Morey and I have similar headliners about the timing of the legislative session and what can be done about it.
Plus, like I do with all state lawmakers, I asked Morey what she orders from the Legislative Building’s food options. She’s pro-snack bar, vs. the cafeteria.
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This story was originally published July 17, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
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