LIFTing North Carolina

These are the LIFT Principles by Patriot Academy Founder Rick Green. They are the fundamental principles and values that have inspired me to educate, equip, and encourage others through LIFTing North Carolina.

As the SAVE America Act and the question of nationwide voter ID continues to be debated by senators in Washington, DC, voter ID is officially law of the land in North Carolina.

In 2018, the North Carolina General Assembly passed H1092, proposing a state constitutional amendment requiring a photo ID to vote in state elections. According to the State Board of Elections, the majority 55% of North Carolinians voted for constitutional voter ID. Legislators immediately passed, and then overrode former Governor Cooper’s veto of, S824 requiring voters to produce photo IDs proving US citizenship and North Carolina residence. This law would become effective in 2020.

However, in December of 2019, the NAACP sued, citing that voter IDs are racist, violating the 14th and 15th amendments and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Judge Biggs of the Middle District Court of North Carolina issued a preliminary injunction a week later. The State Board of Elections appealed, but was denied. In 2022, the US Supreme Court gave state legislators permission to defend their bill in court. In 2023, the state Supreme Court approved a stay, allowing voter ID to be implemented at the polls even as the lawsuit persisted. In 2024, 6 years after voter ID laws were approved, Judge Biggs scheduled a bench trial, and, for two weeks, heard from defendants and plaintiffs.

One of the plaintiff’s arguments may found familiar: Requiring North Carolinians to present photo ID proving residence and citizenship at the polls will disenfranchise voters and harm turnout.

According to the State Board of Elections, in 2020, prior to voter ID, over 5.5 million, or 75% of North Carolinians voted. In 2024, after voter ID was implemented, over 5.7 million, or 74% of North Carolinians voted. While there is a 1% decrease between 2020 and 2024, 178 thousand more people voted in 2024. This is a 3% increase in voter turnout after implementing voter ID.

Therefore, requiring voter ID did not suppress voter turnout in North Carolina.

On March 13, 2026, almost 2 years after the trial and 7 years after first blocking voter ID, Judge Biggs ruled that S284 and voter ID is not racially discriminatory. Finally, North Carolina Voter ID is fully state law and is upheld by our state constitution.

Founding Father James Madison wrote in 1788, “If we consider the situation of the men on whom the free suffrages of their fellow citizens may confer the representative trust, we shall find it involving every security which can be devised or desired for their fidelity to their constituents.”

Recall the Timeless Truth found in Proverbs 11:9-10, “With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge and discernment the righteous will be rescued. When it goes well for the righteous, the city rejoices, And when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference.

If North Carolina’s voter ID failed to suppress the vote, then national voter ID will also not suppress the vote. Reach out to your senator in Washington and urge them to pass the SAVE America Act. Have a respectful discussion on voter IDs with the people in your spheres of influence. When the election is secure so that only citizens may elect citizens, it will restore trust, integrity, and accountability in the process. To discover your senator’s contact information, go to senate.gov/senators/

I previously spoke about this Committee in Episode 12 of LIFTing North Carolina, which aired in January 2026.

In December of 2025, North Carolina Speaker of the House Destin Hall formed a bipartisan select committee whose purpose is to study options to reduce tax burdens on North Carolinians. The options provided in the Speaker’s statement include several alternatives, such as altering the frequency of evaluations, a Constitutional amendment on counties’ levying powers, and reviewing local municipalities’ spending habits.

On March 16, 2026, the John Locke Foundation published a study of property taxes levied by North Carolina’s top ten most populous counties. The study also checked if those taxes would violate the Committee’s proposed Constitutional restriction. The study found that 7 out of 10 counties have property tax rates outpacing inflation. Cabarrus and Wake Counties top the list, individually levying more than 100% in property taxes than inflation rates since 2016. In other words, Cabarrus county residents pay approximately $52.9 million, and Wake County residents about $318.7 million more in property taxes than if the counties levied solely by inflation. The average resident in either county saw their property tax bill increase $1400 over ten years.

On April 15, 2026, the Committee will consider a state constitutional amendment restricting county governments from raising property taxes above the inflation rate without permission from the General Assembly. This amendment would be accompanied by legislative policies restricting property assessments to population and inflation. If passed by the General Assembly in their upcoming short session in April, North Carolinians will be asked on their ballot in November to approve or deny limitations on local governments’ power to increase property taxes.

The Founding Fathers supported property taxes only to raise funds in times of war for defense supplies. For example, Alexander Hamilton wrote on Limited Government in 1775, “They are impowered “to levy proportionable and reasonable assessments, rates and taxes, for our service, in the necessary defence and support of the government of the said province, or territory; and the protection and preservation of the inhabitants there… are the purposes, for which they are to raise supplies; and, in my humble opinion, there are no others, to which any society is under an obligation to contribute its wealth or property.”

Justice William Blackstone, whose works the Founding Fathers studied, wrote in 1753, “The right of private property: because, as there is no other known method of compulsion, or abridging man’s natural free will, but by an infringement or diminution of [this] important right, the preservation [of private property] … may justly be said to include the preservation of our civil immunities in their largest and most extensive sense … So long as [private property] remain[s] inviolate, the subject is perfectly free.”

Recall the Timeless Truth found in Proverbs 29:4, “By justice a king brings stability to a land, but a person who demands ‘contributions’ demolishes it.” and also found in Ezekiel 46:18, “The prince shall not take any of the people’s inheritance … [but] provide his sons inheritance from his own property.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference.

Go to your County database and locate where they list the taxes they levy on residents. In some counties, this may be under the Revenue Department or the Assessor’s Office. Study the different methods of taxation, some of which are fairer than others, such as a flat tax versus a progressive tax, and taxes that are unBiblical such as income taxes – referenced in Proverbs 13:22, Deuteronomy 14:22, and 1 Samuel 8. By having knowledge and understanding of the subject, you will be able to formulate solid debates and defenses, and easily recognize when the government has overstepped their jurisdiction into your savings.

On March 12, US Senate Majority Leader Thune of South Dakota indicated that he will bring the Act to the Senate floor the week of March 16, 2026.

Senator Thune’s announcement comes after several weeks of debate on the merits of a bill designed to ensure that only US citizens vote in US elections. The arguments that married women will be barred from voting, that rural and marginalized Americans find it too difficult to prove citizenship to vote, that photo IDs are too expensive and hard to come by, or the bill allows federal overreach into the private affairs of Americans have been thoroughly debunked as untrue and misleading.

With over 80% of Americans supporting voter IDs, why has the Senate waited so long to take action?

In 2025, the House of Representatives passed HR884 to remove the ability for noncitizens to vote in municipal elections in Washington, DC. 148 Democrat Representatives voted to continue allowing noncitizens access to the ballots. On the SAVE America Act, Senators Jeffries and Schumer claim that requiring photo ID to verify citizenship is voter suppression, implying that the current election system that does not verify citizenship to vote is satisfactory.

Also, a provision in the SAVE America Act requires states to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls. In 2024, the North Carolina State Board of Elections removed 750,000 ineligible people from the state voter rolls, followed by 500,000 more in May 2025, for a total of 1.25 million. That means that if all 7.7 million registered North Carolinians voted in an election prior to 2024, 16%, or one/sixth, were fraudulent ballots.

Should the SAVE America Act pass and come into effect, and if the other 49 states in the Union also removed 16% of ineligible voters from their rolls, that would add up to nearly 27.8 million fraudulent entries out of 174 million registered voters nationwide. And yet, Senators Jeffries and Schumer and multiple others in Congress say the SAVE America Act will hurt election integrity.

A Gallup poll from 2024 revealed that while 57% of Americans don’t trust the election system, Americans worrying about election fraud differs widely between parties. 70% of Republicans, 40% of Independents, and 20% of Democrats believe that people ineligible to vote cast a ballot anyway.

Furthermore, the 15th amendment to the Constitution states, quote, “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged” unquote. Therefore, American citizens’ votes are abridged, as in weakened and diluted, when noncitizens also vote.

Alexander Hamilton said of Limited Government in 1802, “It might be asked in return, does the right to asylum or hospitality carry with it the right to suffrage and sovereignty? …The impolicy of admitting foreigners to an immediate and unreserved participation in the right of suffrage, or in the sovereignty of a Republic, is as much a received axiom as any thing in the science of politics, and is verified by the experience of all ages. Among other instances, it is known, that hardly any thing contributed more to the downfall of Rome, than her precipitate communication of the privileges of citizenship to the inhabitants of Italy at large.”

Founding Father John Adams wrote in 1763, “Let us neglect all party virulence and advert to facts. Let us believe no man to be infallible or impeccable in government, any more than in religion: take no man’s word against evidence, nor implicitly adopt the sentiments of others, who may be deceived themselves, or may be interested in deceiving us.”

Remember the Timeless Truth found in Luke 16:10-12, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference.

Reach out to your senator in Washington and urge them to pass the SAVE America Act. To discover your senator’s contact information, go to senate.gov/senators/

With the midterm primary elections complete, several members of the North Carolina state legislature are lame ducks, meaning that they have already lost reelection and are simply fulfilling the remainder of their terms until January 2027.

The North Carolina State Republicans and Senators have been mostly a unified body and a majority in both chambers for several years. Through their unification, North Carolina’s Republicans protected women from biological men in sports and private spaces, strengthened North Carolinians’ second amendment rights, blocked state agencies from funding transgender treatments, upheld parental rights, and more.

But what will happen if Democrats regain the majority in the North Carolina Senate and House?

In Virginia’s 2025 general election, Democrats won the governor’s seat and both legislative chambers. Since January, the Democrat majority have passed several problematic bills that violate Virginians’ rights.

– HB333, which awaits Governor’s Spanburger’s signature, forces public school teachers to say that January 6 was a violent insurrection and that election fraud was not a factor in the assembly. It is a violation of teachers’ right to free speech and opinion. Additionally, all new curriculum and materials must also describe January 6 as a violent insurrection.

– HB61, which passed the House, instructs state agencies to disregard small businesses owned by Caucasian men from consideration for state bids unless the bid is of greater value than $200,000. It is a blatant civil rights violation and against the practice of the free market.

– HB21, which passed both chambers, holds firearm manufacturers and sellers responsible if criminals use firearms to commit crimes. This may result in firearm manufacturers moving away from Virginia and firearm retailers closing their businesses to avoid litigation expenses, depriving law-abiding Virginians access to their 2nd amendment right to bear arms.

– And HB781, which will be appearing on Virginians’ ballots this November, proposes a Virginia Constitutional amendment to allow abortion up to the birth of the baby if the attending physician deems the pregnancy harmful to the mother’s physical or mental health. Killing an unborn baby denies the child life, liberty, and their pursuit of happiness in addition to their deprivation of all Constitutional rights.

We can’t let that happen here in North Carolina!

Several North Carolina Republicans have been primaried out of office, leaving the door open for those who despise the Constitution and the nuclear family.

Founding Father John Adams wrote of Limited Government and Individual Liberty in 1775, “A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty once lost is lost forever. When the People once surrender their share in the Legislature, and their Right of defending the Limitations upon the Government, and of resisting every Encroachment upon them, they can never regain it.”

Recall the Timeless Truth found in Ephesians 6:11-12, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Monitor the activities of the North Carolina legislature. Our senators and representatives will enter the short session in April, where they will consider new laws, Governor Stein’s vetoes on anti-DEI and pro-border security bills, and more. Be informed of your lawmaker’s motives, and recognize the purpose of the legislation. Contact your elected official on concerns, support, or suggestions for improvement.

To keep updated on the progress of current bills in the North Carolina legislature, go to ncleg.gov/legislation, and click Bill’s last action by year.

March 3rd, 2026 was Election Day for the midterm primaries. According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, since 1988, only an average of 27% of registered voters show up for a primary, 47% of voters turn out for a non-presidential cycle general election and a whopping 67% of voters come to the polls when there’s a president on the ballot.

Why are voters more inclined to cast ballots for a president, but not for other races? The three branches of government are not equal; The most powerful person is not the president or governor, the most powerful people are those in the state and national Congresses. Selecting your leaders is important, yes, but more important is the selection of men and women who will decide the laws under which you live.

The purpose of a primary election is to narrow down the field so only the most qualified and wise candidates appear on your ballot in November. It is Americans’ civic duty to vote for strong and righteous candidates. 13 people ran for US Senate this cycle. As a voter, were you prepared to cast your ballet? Did you vet the candidates further than hearsay and social media by doing your own research or speaking with the candidate personally?

As a citizen of the United States of America, we have the ability to choose from among us capable men and women to write laws, uphold laws, or give opinions on laws.

Founding Father Samuel Adams wrote in 1775, “Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust be men of unexceptionable characters. The public cannot be too curious concerning the character of public men.”

When teachers imbue their lessons with shielding illegal immigrants from the law and schools don’t enforce student attendance but are quick to punish free speech that may hurt someone’s feelings, what confidence can parents have in the quality of their children’s education or assurance in their children’s safety if students are encouraged to leave campus at any time?

Remember Founding Father Benjamin Franklin words on the purpose of formal education in 1749, “Nothing can more effectually contribute to the Cultivation and Improvement of a Country, the Wisdom, Riches, and Strength, Virtue and Piety, the Welfare and Happiness of a People, than a proper Education of Youth, by forming their Manners, imbuing their tender Minds with Principles of Rectitude and Morality, instructing them in the dead and living Languages, particularly their Mother-Tongue, and all useful Branches of [ample and candid] Arts and Science.”

Recall the Timeless Truth found in Ephesians 6:4, “Do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference law Constitutionally. Look up their website, social media, voting history, and interviews to discover what they believe. Then, support the candidate you favor highest, whether that be by volunteering, donation, or public defense of their character. In November, be assured that you, your neighbors, your friends, and your family will arrive at the polls thoroughly informed.

Parents are empowered by North Carolina General Statute Chapter 114A the Parents’ Bill of Rights to ditells a tale of men invited to a prince’s wedding feast, and those that refused to respond, or arrived but failed to adequately prepare themselves, were not favorable in the eyes of the king. Note the Timeless Truth in Verse 14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Every election cycle, be sure to patronize your polling place and cast your ballot. Be knowledgeable of candidates who will create laws, uphold laws, and interprect teir cion, upbringing, and care. When parents are engaged with the school system, they will know exactly when their children are departing from or being punished for the way parents have raised them.

Parents, are you monitoring what your children are doing at school, and what their instructors are teaching?

ICE continues to remove rapists, murderers, and violent criminal illegal aliens from our streets, but the Association of Educators, the public school employees union at the state and county levels, have hosted meetings instructing teachers how to resist immigration enforcement. A special needs elementary teacher in Raleigh sells anti-ICE graphic shirts, including one that reads that teaching is rebellion, activism, and disruption. Another teacher in Guilford County Public Schools posted on her Facebook that she marches in anti-ICE No Kings protests.

On February 17, 2026, TC Robertson High, Asheville High, and AC Reynolds Schools in Buncombe County allowed over 200 teenagers to leave during school hours to protest in the streets. Students crossed busy intersections, held vulgar signage, waved foreign flags, and flashed obscene gestures at news cameras. Buncombe County Schools stated that they respect students’ rights to respectfully express themselves.

On February 19, Page High in Greensboro allowed approximately 100 students to protest ICE in the campus football field. These students also carried signs with obscene language. Guilford County Schools stated that students conducted themselves respectfully.

Meanwhile, a 16-year old at Central Davidson High in Lexington, North Carolina was suspended for offensive racial language for asking if his English teacher meant space or illegal aliens. His family sued. In June of 2025, the Davidson County Board of Education settled by removing the mark from the student’s record, issuing a public apology for character slander, and paying for the now 17-year-old’s first year of tuition in a different school.

In contrast, on February 12, 2026, in Iredell County, Superintendent James blocked students from walking out by saying students who leave campus during school hours may be suspended for violating school policy and for their own safety. Student safety is a credible concern, as on February 19 an underage student protesting ICE in Palm Beach, Florida was hit by a car. Also on February 19 in Dundee, Illinois, Dundee Middle School students left campus to protest ICE, and a special needs sixth grader was abandoned on the side of Highway 72.

Many teachers, school administrations, and students fear that ICE will come into the schools and take children. On September 9, 2025, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin reiterated DHS policy that quote “ICE is not going to schools [to] arrest children. … If a dangerous illegal alien felon were to flee into a school, or a child sex offender is working as an employee, there may be a situation where an arrest is made to protect public safety.”

When teachers imbue their lessons with shielding illegal immigrants from the law and schools don’t enforce student attendance but are quick to punish free speech that may hurt someone’s feelings, what confidence can parents have in the quality of their children’s education or assurance in their children’s safety if students are encouraged to leave campus at any time?

Remember Founding Father Benjamin Franklin words on the purpose of formal education in 1749, “Nothing can more effectually contribute to the Cultivation and Improvement of a Country, the Wisdom, Riches, and Strength, Virtue and Piety, the Welfare and Happiness of a People, than a proper Education of Youth, by forming their Manners, imbuing their tender Minds with Principles of Rectitude and Morality, instructing them in the dead and living Languages, particularly their Mother-Tongue, and all useful Branches of [ample and candid] Arts and Science.”

Recall the Timeless Truth found in Ephesians 6:4, “Do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Parents are empowered by North Carolina General Statute Chapter 114A the Parents’ Bill of Rights to direct their children’s education, upbringing, and care. When parents are engaged with the school system, they will know exactly when their children are departing from or being punished for the way parents have raised them.

In the last episode, I spoke on the SAVE, or Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, Act, and the arguments for and against photo IDs and requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. The bill has been held up in the US Senate for a year. In January, US Representative Chip Roy of Texas brought the SAVE Act under the new name the SAVE America Act back to the House floor. The bill passed on February 11, 2026. The two numbers the SAVE America Act goes by are HR7296 and S1383.

The SAVE America Act is an updated version of the SAVE Act, in that Section 3 has expanded mandates for presentation of photo ID to vote in a Federal election. This includes requiring a copy of your photo ID when you request and submit an absentee ballot. The SAVE America Act also clarifies photo IDs — Only physical, not digital, copies are valid, and photo IDs must be issued by a tribal, state, or federal authority.

As the SAVE America Act progresses, so do the logically fallible arguments and concerns against the bill.

On February 11 during floor debate on the SAVE America Act, Representative Morelle of New York claimed that photo IDs like passports are too expensive and will price Americans out of voting. However, any American citizen can procure for free at their local DMV a non-operator ID, which is an acceptable form of photo identification to vote.

During floor debate, Representative Sewell of Alabama stated that the bill allows DHS access to sensitive voter information. This is only partially true, as the bill states that a state elected official must request DHS assistance to verify that an individual registering to vote is an American Citizen, but the DHS is not obligated to respond. Additionally, all states have been required to allow the Federal government to access voter information since the passage of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

During floor debate, Representative Torres of California said that millions of married women cannot vote because their married surname doesn’t match their birth certificate. Her argument is completely invalid. Out of 50 states, none of them require a birth certificate to match a woman’s married name when she registers to vote. Depending on state law the certificate may need to be supported by a second, current document.

Remember that arguments against photo IDs to vote are largely invalid because if photo IDs are so difficult to possess, then it would be equally difficult to drive a car, fly on a plane, buy alcohol and medication, register for schooling, work, return purchases, and more. Additionally, the people critics of the SAVE America Act say would be most hurt by photo ID requirements to vote may also be recipients of federal and state benefits, which require photo ID.

During floor debate on February 11, Representative Luna of Florida pointed out that if voter ID is quote “presenting papers,” as Representatives Torres and Johnson attest, then why were Americans forced to present papers proving they received the COVID vaccine to work, travel, and visit loved ones?

Founding Father Samuel Adams wrote in 1781, “Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual – or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”

Recall the Timeless Truth found in 2 Corinthians 4:2, “But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Reach out to your senator in Washington and urge them to pass the SAVE America Act. When the election is secure so that only Americans may elect Americans, it will restore trust, integrity, and accountability in the process. To discover your senator’s contact information, go to senate.gov/senators/

In January of 2025, US Representative Chip Roy of Texas introduced the SAVE Act, requiring people registering to vote to possess proof they are a citizen of the United States by birth or naturalization, and to vote people will need to present photo ID. The SAVE Act’s intention is to secure American elections and prohibit non-citizens from voting, and another step to inhibit voter fraud. The Act passed the House in April of 2025 and moved on to the Senate, but the Senate has refused to address the SAVE Act for the last 10 months.

Common critiques of the SAVE Act include that Americans lack documents like birth certificates, drivers licenses, and passports, and that it is difficult for Americans to receive those documents if they live in rural areas. Senator Jamie Raskin claimed that the SAVE Act violates the 19th Amendment on women’s suffrage, in that women who get married will be barred from voting until they update documentation reflecting their new surname. Senator Chuck Schumer said that black Americans find it harder to vote than other Americans and that voter ID is quote “Jim Crow 2.0.”

These concerns of potential voter hardship are handedly addressed by systems already in place.

The claim that millions of Americans cannot easily get government documents due to marriage, travel, or age restrictions is predominantly false if these same Americans have access to the internet or a phone, or if they receive WICK, welfare, or financial assistance.

If you lost your birth certificate, you can request a replacement from the North Carolina Office of Vital Records, which can be filled out online, over the phone, in person in Raleigh or at your county Register of Deeds, and by mail.

The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles offers non-operator State IDs which can be used as a photo ID. To get one, you will need to bring proof of identity such as birth certificate and Social Security and proof of residency to your nearest DMV office, or you can request Homebound Service where a DMV employee comes to you.

Passports require only a little more paperwork and travel to a passport acceptance facility, which can include post offices, clerks of court, and public libraries in your area.

But if photo IDs are allegedly so difficult to possess, why are photo IDs required for buying alcohol or medication, applying for federal and state benefits, marriage, opening a bank account, driving and renting a car, adopting a pet, gambling, filing for insurance, returning purchases, donating blood, and flying on planes, among other things? The voter ID discrimination argument is a straw man fallacy, and the racist argument that it’s harder to vote based on skin pigmentation is inaccurate, demeaning, and offensive because all Americans possess the same rights.

In addition, studies done by institutions such as Gallup, Rassmussen, and Pew Research, find that 80% of Americans support voter IDs.

Remember the Timeless Truth found in Exodus 18:21, “But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.”

In light of that verse, Founding Father John Jay wrote in 1777, “The Americans are the first people whom Heaven has favored with an opportunity of deliberating upon and choosing the forms of government under which they should live.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Reach out to your senator in Washington and urge them to pass the SAVE Act. When the election is secure so that only Americans may elect Americans, you will arrive at the poll also knowing that no one has infringed on your rights and stolen your ballot by voting in your name. To discover your senator’s contact information, go to senate.gov/senators/

In accordance with Article 2 Section 3 of the state Constitution, the North Carolina General Assembly is required to redraw the electoral district lines every ten years to ensure equal and proper representation across the state based on the most recent census. In October of 2025, the General Assembly approved Senate Bill 249’s newest congressional districting map, which affects only representatives sent to Washington DC. The new map left most of North Carolina’s districts alone but shifted the boundaries in the eastern districts.

This led to a legal challenge by the self-described social justice and liberal activist groups NAACP and Common Cause, and plaintiffs associated with prominent Democrat-ally Marc Elias, seeking an injunction by the courts to block the congressional map from coming into effect due to allegations of racial targeting, quote “The [map] dismantles the Black opportunity district in [congressional district]-1 by moving several counties with significant Black populations out of the district and into [congressional district]-3, trading them for several primarily white counties, diluting the Black vote in both districts. … Black voters are extremely unlikely to elect candidates of their choice in either district.” End quote.

However, a month later on November 26, 2025, their lawsuit was dismissed by the courts, finding that the plaintiffs lacked any Constitutional standing. The court said that the redistricting was not racially targeted, there is no law prohibiting mid-census congressional maps, and that partisanship is not a legally punishable offense. Therefore, the map became effective. While the plaintiffs were offered appeal to the US Supreme Court, they decided not to pursue further litigation.

Governor Stein was unable to veto SB249, because in 1995 the Democrat-controlled General Assembly passed Senate Bill 3 proposing a State Constitutional amendment establishing limitations on what the governor could veto. This went before the voters in the general election of 1996, and voters approved the Constitutional amendment by a 75% majority.

Every time a political party is in charge, they will redistrict in their favor. In 2001, the Democrat-controlled General Assembly approved a statewide redistricting map that had district borders snaking through specific demographical areas and splitting other districts in two. This map was in effect until 2010, when Republicans regained control of the state House and Senate for the first time since the late 1800s.

Founding Father Elbridge Gerry said in 1787, “The evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy. The people do not want virtue, but are the dupes of pretended patriots. … [The people] are daily misled into the most baneful measures and opinions, by the false reports circulated by designing men, and which no one on the spot can refute.”

If that sounds familiar, the Timeless Truth found Proverbs 11:14, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

When you publicly address your elected leaders, be sure that you are knowledgable of the rules of civil decorum. Public comment guidelines will vary by county and municipality, and they should be located on the municipality’s official government webpage describing the Board of Commissioners or Council. Despite your comment’s subject matter or your emotional investment, always remember to be succinct, polite, and respectful, and by maintaining decorum you are more likely to be heard and well received.

There may be times when you want to speak during public comment at your town or county commissioners meeting. There are often policies in place for public comment, and sometimes, if you fail to say your name, address, or reason for commenting, you may be interrupted with a request to state those details to abide by policy. If you refuse, you may be asked to sit down or leave the room.

Does that mean your 1st Amendment right to speak has been unlawfully infringed? That depends on the municipality or county’s policy for public comment.

James Campbell of Cabarrus County spoke during public comment at the April 15, 2024 County Commissioners meeting to urge the Board to investigate allegations of corruption within the local Department of Social Services and Department of Child Protection Services. When he started listing possible corruption connections to specific county officials, he was informed that he violated public comment policy of “naming names.” Campbell said that until someone hands him a copy of this policy, he would continue to speak. Because he persisted in naming names and potentially violating public comment policy, he was escorted from the chamber and banned from entering it for 90 days.

Over the ensuing months, while still abiding by the 90-day ban, Campbell made several verbal and written requests including a FOIA to read the public comment policy but was never supplied the full document, instead receiving a copy of the document authorizing the Board to develop a public comment policy. Seven months after still lacking access to the full policy, Campbell sued the County Board of Commissioners. He won his lawsuit March 12, 2025, and the County Board admitted that they had incorrectly outlined the public comment policy and had, indeed, violated Campbell’s 1st Amendment right to speak.

Thomas Paine wrote in 1792, “Liberty is the power to do everything that does not interfere with the rights of others: thus, the exercise of the natural rights of every individual has no limits save those that assure to other members of society the enjoyment of the same rights.”

Recall the relevant Bible verse found in Proverbs 11:14, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

When you publicly address your elected leaders, be sure that you are knowledgable of the rules of civil decorum. Public comment guidelines will vary by county and municipality, and they should be located on the municipality’s official government webpage describing the Board of Commissioners or Council. Despite your comment’s subject matter or your emotional investment, always remember to be succinct, polite, and respectful, and by maintaining decorum you are more likely to be heard and well received.

In December of 2025, North Carolina Speaker of the House Destin Hall formed a bipartisan select committee whose purpose is to study options to reduce tax burdens on North Carolinians. The options provided in the Speaker’s statement include several alternatives, such as altering the frequency of evaluations, a Constitutional amendment on counties’ levying powers, and reviewing local municipalities’ spending habits.

On home affordability, in 2023, the Tax Foundation found that North Carolina’s average property tax to housing value rate was .62 percent, with a median of around $3500 a year that places us 33rd most expensive out of 50 states. The NC League of Municipalities provided information to the Committee showing that roughly two thirds of a town’s revenue is sourced by property taxes. The US Federal Housing Finance Agency found that the House Price Transaction Index for North Carolina went from about 400 points in 2020 to 700 points in 2025, an increase of 175 percent in five years, and an increase of 1000 percent from 70 point index for home prices in 1975. With such numbers, it’s very easy to understand why North Carolinians are upset about property taxes.

The House Select Committee on Property Tax Reduction and Reform has until May 1st, 2026, to provide the results of evaluations and studies, along with proposed legislation, to the House of Representatives.

According to the Founding Fathers, they supported property taxes only to raise funds in times of war for defense supplies. For example, Alexander Hamilton wrote on Limited Government in 1775, “They are impowered “to levy proportionable and reasonable assessments, rates and taxes, for our service, in the necessary defence and support of the government of the said province, or territory; and the protection and preservation of the inhabitants there… are the purposes, for which they are to raise supplies; and, in my humble opinion, there are no others, to which any society is under an obligation to contribute its wealth or property.”

George Washington further illustrates this point of property taxes only for national defense purposes, writing in 1775, “I mention [war], because I am very willing to have my property taxed to its proportionate amount to effect a Plan of defence to [Fairfax and naval combat].”

Recall the Timeless Truth found in Proverbs 29:4, “By justice a king brings stability to a land, but a person who demands ‘contributions’ demolishes it.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Go to your County database and locate where they list the taxes they levy on residents. In some counties, this may be under the Revenue Department or the Assessor’s Office. Study the different methods of taxation, some of which are fairer than others, such as a flat tax versus a progressive tax, and taxes that are unBiblical such as income taxes – referenced in Proverbs 13:22, Deuteronomy 14:22, and 1 Samuel 8. By having knowledge and understanding of the subject, you will be able to formulate solid debates and defenses, and easily recognize when the government has overstepped their jurisdiction into your savings.

Midterms have arrived and the Primary is right around the corner on March 3rd. Voters will choose elected representatives who will develop and implement laws and policies that will affect all North Carolinians. In primary elections, the candidates are narrowed down by voters so only a few will make it to the general election ballot.

According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, eligible North Carolinians have until February 6th to register to vote. Early voting begins February 12th and ends on the 28th. Again, primary Election Day is March 3rd.

Submitting a ballot to select your leaders is one of the most patriotic things an American can do. The Founding Fathers inscribed in the Declaration of Independence – “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1781, “Every government degenerates when trusted to rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefor, are the only safe depositories.”

James Madison wrote on 1787, “As each representative will be chosen by a greater number of citizens… it will be more difficult for unworthy candidates to practice with success the vicious arts by which elections are too often carried, and the suffrages of the people being more free, will be more likely to center in men who possess the most attractive merit and most diffusive and established characters.”

And John Adams wrote in 1763, “we know that ignorance, vanity, excessive ambition and venality, will in spite of all human precautions creep into government, and will ever be aspiring at extravagant and unconstitutional emoluments to individuals; let us never relax our attention, or our resolution to keep these unhappy imperfections in human nature… It becomes necessary to… examine and judge for himself of the tendency of political principles and measures. Let us examine them with a sober, a manly,… and a Christian spirit. Let us neglect all party virulence and advert to facts. Let us believe no man to be infallible or impeccable in government, any more than in religion: take no man’s word against evidence, nor implicitly adopt the sentiments of others, who may be deceived themselves, or may be interested in deceiving us.”

Remember the Timeless Truths found in Exodus 18:21 on electing capable, honest, and trustworthy individuals, and Proverbs 29:2 on rejoicing when the righteous are in authority.

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

If you are over 18 years old, you are an American citizen, and your primary residence is located in North Carolina, check if you are registered to vote to exercise your patriotic duty. Thoroughly vet the candidates on your ballot before you go to the polls. Look up their website, social media, voting history, and interviews to discover what they believe. Being an informed voter is one of the most important parts of your civic duty.

To learn more about the upcoming primary election, visit the North Carolina State Board of Elections website at NCSBE.gov.

On October 9, 2025, the Randolph County Public Library Board of Trustees heard from residents on a children’s book about a girl who wants to live as a boy. The residents requested the book’s removal from the children’s section to a different section of the library. The Board of Trustees decided not to move the book, so Randolph County residents went to the County Board of Commissioners. At a special December 8 meeting, the County Commissioners voted 3-2 to dissolve the Library Board of Trustees because the Trustees acted contrary to the values of the majority of Randolph County residents.

Leading up to the County Commissioners’ decision, many people argued a dissolution is an effort to ban books, disenfranchise LGBT children, and infringing on the First Amendment right to free speech.

The Randolph County Board of Commissioners acted within North Carolina state law. General Statute Chapter 153 Article 5 § 153A‑76 and -77 gives County Commissioners authority over the existence of boards not established or required by state law, and County Commissioners shall assume the powers and duties of dissolved boards.

On the concern of the infringement of free speech, a 2024 ruling of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Little v. Llano County and Campbell v. St. Tammany Parish gives legal precent in favor of County Commissioners. Judge Duncan wrote in his majority opinion on May 23, 2025 that when commissioners control library boards which control library contents, library books are government, third-party speech, not free speech protected under the First Amendment. He also compared public libraries to art museums, in that neither is obligated under the First Amendment to show you media you want to see.

Founding Father James Madison wrote on Individual Liberty in 1790, “If we are to take for the criterion of truth the majority of suffrages, they ought to be gathered from those philosophical and patriotic citizens who cultivate their reason, apart from the scenes which distract its operations, and expose it to the influence of the passions.”

Remember the Timeless Truth in 1 Timothy 1:3-7, “Charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Be aware of what your children are reading and the types of books to which they have access. Recall Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” What people read feeds thoughts and actions, so ensure what you read is wholesome in both spirit and content.

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene drowned western North Carolina. Homes were destroyed, countless lives lost, and the US Forest Service estimates Helene’s destruction includes almost 900 miles of roads, about 50 bridges, and nearly all local recreation areas. More than a year later, North Carolinians, with the aid of federal and state programs and private entities, are still rebuilding.

When it takes over a year to fix your home, restore access to your own property, and rebuild your life, it’s understandable that North Carolinians and lawmakers are becoming frustrated at the lack of progress.

Stating that bureaucratic permitting delays are to blame for lagging economic recovery, US Representative Tim Moore of district NC14 introduced the SALAMANDER Act on December 12, 2025. The Act will streamline the permit process for the Army Corps of Engineers following a Presidential declaration of natural disaster. The Act is designed to prioritize humans over animals in exempting permits from certain parts of the Endangered Species Act 16 US Code 1536(a)(2), which, while adhering to “strict best practices” to protect habitats, allows federal recovery efforts to begin immediately.

The SALAMANDER Act follows a US Department of the Interior November 2025 announcement of proposed revisions to sections of the Endangered Species Act in compliance with several executive orders, revisions which include adherence to the overturned Chevron ruling (agencies must now abide to written, not inferred, law), and restoring hierarchy of importance between environmental impacts and economic or national security impacts.

Founding Father James Madison said of Free Enterprise in 1789, “I own myself the friend to a very free system of commerce, and hold it as truth that commercial shackles are generally unjust, oppressive, and impolitic. It is also a truth, that if industry and labor are left to take their own course, they will generally be directed to these objects which are the most productive, and this in a more certain and direct manner can the wisdom of the most enlightened legislature could point out.”

Recall the Timeless Truth found in Proverbs 11:1, “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

When your elected officials move to amend current law, invest the time to become knowledgeable on the standing law and proposed revision. Be informed of the lawmaker’s motives, and recognize for whom the amendment is advantageous. Contact your elected official on concerns, support, or suggestions for improvement.

To learn more about the SALAMANDER Act, visit US Representative Tim Moore’s website at timmoore.house.gov/media/press-releases, open the December 15, 2025 article, and click on the link to read the bill’s text.

In July, 2025, Governor Stein vetoed H193, the Firearms Revisions Act because he said that guns should be kept out of schools and allowing teachers and volunteers to carry firearms would put children in danger. His veto was overridden this past July and became active December 1.

What does H193 actually say? With permission from non-public school administration or board of trustees, and with a concealed carry permit and annual safety training, school employees and volunteers may carry a firearm or stun gun on campus, among other items.

Would responsible firearm owners on non-public school campuses endanger schoolchildren, as Governor Stein worries? A 2024 study by the Crime Prevention Research Center, pulling data from the FBI and DOJ, found that armed citizens caught in an active shooter situation significantly reduce casualties by almost always ending the mass shooting faster than police. In 2014, the FBI released a study called Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013. The study found that nearly 70 percent of mass shootings start and end in under 5 minutes, which is faster than most police can arrive at the scene. In 56 percent of mass shootings, the assailant was stopped by suicide or fleeing the scene, and another 41 percent of mass shootings were ended by citizens. To summarize, citizens can act faster than police to end a mass shooting.

During the July 29th House of Representatives Session to override Governor Stein’s veto of H193, during floor debate Representative Laura Budd of District 103-Mecklenburg stated that owning a gun and possessing a gun are NOT God-given rights from the US Constitution or the North Carolina Constitution.

That is incorrect. The citizens’ right to bear arms is found in the 2nd Amendment right by violating the essential 4th amendment protection of your personal affects from seizures, and the 5th amendment right of due process. Red flag laws also allow ex parte testimonies where only one party is represented in the courtroom without the other party’s knowledge, a violation of the 6th amendment.

Additionally, the Founding Fathers were against gun confiscations. In his “Legal Commonplace Book,” Thomas Jefferson transcribed a quote by (Sez-are-reh Beck-ah-ria) Cesare Baccaria, “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms … disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants… for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one.”

And James Madison wrote in 1788, “The [European] governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. … Let us not insult the free and gallant citizens of America with the suspicion that they would be less able to defend [their] rights.”

Furthermore, red flag laws are unBiblical. Exodus 22:2 promotes self-defense of your home. In Luke 22:36, Jesus told his disciples to buy swords for personal self-defense. Nehemiah 4:16-18 speaks of staying prepared in case of attack.

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Find a reputable firearm range near you and start training. By learning of the importance of our 2nd amendment right to self-defense, you will become the deterrent. But also pray for those who would commit terrorist acts in hate to have second thoughts and the complete transformation of their heart and mind.

As 2025 is drawing to a close, let’s continue to recap the conservative accomplishments our North Carolina legislature achieved this year! The General Assembly successfully stopped the following bills from advancing, which are unconstitutional, unBiblical, and go against the Founders’ original intent.

House bill 353, the Fair Minimum Wage Act, would have increased the state minimum wage from 7.25 an hour to 10 dollars and continue to rise to 18 an hour by 2031. This is a terrible bill economically, Biblically and by the Founders’ original intent.

For an example of how minimum wage is detrimental to both employers and employees, California ratified a 20 dollar an hour minimum wage in 2024, which led to business closures and the loss of over 10 thousand jobs. On January 1, 2025, Seattle, Washington enacted a city-wide $20.76 minimum wage, and by January 13, Seattle saw an astonishing rate of 1 business closure every 2 days. A 2018 study from the Harvard Business School found that for every dollar added to minimum wage, the chance the average restaurant closes increases 14 percent. Minimum wages cause layoffs, shrink the job market, hurt everyone trying to earn a living, and are detrimental to local economies.

Recall the parable in Matthew 20 where a landowner and laborers agree on a wage the landowner believes is fair. Later, when a few laborers complain, the landowner says in verse 15, “is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?” The Founding Fathers’ thoughts can be found in the Confederated Congress’ Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Section 14 Article 2, “No law ought ever to be made… that shall, in any manner whatever, interfere with or affect private contracts.”

House bill 732, the Common Sense Gun Control Regulation Act, would have reimplemented the requirement of purchase permits, limit magazine capacity, require firearm owners to possess liability insurance, restrict castle law, implement red flag laws as “extreme risk protection orders,” and more.

This bill goes against multiple Constitutional rights, such as the 2nd amendment fundamental right to bear arms. Red flag laws allow civil court proceedings based on a suspicion instead of probable cause, depriving North Carolinians of their 2nd amendment right by violating the essential 4th amendment protection of your personal affects from seizures, and the 5th amendment right of due process. Red flag laws also allow ex parte testimonies where only one party is represented in the courtroom without the other party’s knowledge, a violation of the 6th amendment.

Additionally, the Founding Fathers were against gun confiscations. In his “Legal Commonplace Book,” Thomas Jefferson transcribed a quote by (Sez-are-reh Beck-ah-ria) Cesare Baccaria, “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms … disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants… for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one.”

And James Madison wrote in 1788, “The [European] governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. … Let us not insult the free and gallant citizens of America with the suspicion that they would be less able to defend [their] rights.”

Furthermore, red flag laws are unBiblical. Exodus 22:2 promotes self-defense of your home. In Luke 22:36, Jesus told his disciples to buy swords for personal self-defense. Nehemiah 4:16-18 speaks of staying prepared in case of attack.

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

If you can’t be there in person, go to your town’s website and find the link where they stream and playback town council meetings to hear what’s going on in your town and know if your local representatives are accurately representing you. Watch school board meetings to know what issues the school board is discussing. When a breach of our Constitutional rights is imminent, it is our civic duty to address these concerns to our local, state, and federal leaders, and pray for them to receive wise counsel and make moral and righteous decisions.

As 2025 is drawing to a close, let’s keep recapping the conservative accomplishments our state legislature achieved this year! The General Assembly has scheduled to vote to override on December 15th Governor Stein’s vetoes of the following Constitutional bills.

Governor Stein vetoed S153, the North Carolina Border Protection Act, which would require state agencies to confirm that recipients of state funds are in the country legally, and requires state law enforcement to cooperate with ICE and federal immigration law 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g). In his veto message, Governor Stein said that verifying residency for state benefits is redundant, and requiring law enforcement to work with ICE would make North Carolinians “less safe.” However, October 2025 data from Washington, DC shows that when DC police cooperated with ICE to remove violent illegal aliens, crime rates dropped 32% in three months. We know that ICE apprehended in Charlotte, North Carolina MS-13 and 18th Street gang members and illegal aliens with other serious criminal offenses like assault and larceny, with over 350 total arrests. We await how this affects the region’s crime data.

Governor Stein vetoed three bills that relate to DEI, House bill 171 and Senate bills 227 and 558. Referring to H171, he said removing DEI would eliminate “welcoming work environments” in state agencies. Referring to S227 and S558, Governor Stein said the bills will whitewash history in schools. However, all three bills would restore merit-based practices and instruction in state agencies and schools, in alignment with the North Carolina State Constitution Section 1 Article 1, which reads “We hold it to be self-evident that all persons are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, and the pursuit of happiness.”

How does this legislation correspond with the LIFT principles? House Bill 318 shows the Timeless Truth in valuing the laws of the United States and that a nation has the civic duty to promote the general welfare and safety of its citizens by securing its borders. House Bill 805 pursues Individual Liberty in legal ramifications against entities that exploit women and children and gives students religious exemptions to school materials and activities.

Remember the Timeless Truth in Luke 11:21-22, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes from him all the arm on which he had relied and distributes his plunder.”

Also recall the Timeless Truth in Exodus 23:33, “They shall not live in your land because they will make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, they will surely be a snare to you.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference.

Monitor they defeat the proper end of all laws, and so become null and void.”

Also recall the Timeless Truth found in Proverbs 25:27-28, “It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory. A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

If you can’t be there in person, go to your town’s website and find the link where they stream and playback town council meetings to hear what’s going on in your town and know if your local representatives are accurately representing you. Watch school board meetings to know what issues the school board is discussing. When a breach of our C activities of the North Carolina legislature. Note who votes for and against the legislation, and frequently contact your elected representative and senator to ask questions, and give recommendations and encouragement. And, as always, study the Constitution and the Bill of Rights so you can see when legislation works to compromise them. In knowing the laws of the land, North Carolinians will be more equipped and strengthened to stand.

As Alexander Hamilton penned of Limited Government in 1788, “The propriety of a law in a constitutional light, must always be determined by the nature of the powers upon which it is founded.”

To learn more about this year’s ratified bills, visit the North Carolina General Assembly’s website at ncleg.gov/Legislation.

As 2025 is drawing to a close, let’s keep recapping the conservative accomplishments our state legislature achieved this year! These are Constitutional bills that Governor Stein vetoed but the General Assembly overrode to make law anyway.

Governor Stein vetoed House Bill 318, the Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act, because he said it was unconstitutional. The bill requires state and local law enforcement to verify that the individuals they arrest are in the country legally, and to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement if our police cannot verify detainees’ legal residence. The General Assembly overrode the veto in July and the legislation came into effect October 1, 2025.

Governor Stein vetoed House Bill 805, the Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors Act, because he said it targets vulnerable people. The bill not only increases the punishments for distribution of unconsented adult media, but also defines the biological difference between male and female, prohibits schools from housing biological boys with girls, bans gender transition treatment for incarcerated prisoners, and allows parental access to school libraries. The General Assembly overrode the veto in July and the legislation will become effective December 1st, 2025.

How does this legislation correspond with the LIFT principles? House Bill 318 shows the Timeless Truth in valuing the laws of the United States and that a nation has the civic duty to promote the general welfare and safety of its citizens by securing its borders. House Bill 805 pursues Individual Liberty in legal ramifications against entities that exploit women and children and gives students religious exemptions to school materials and activities.

Remember the Timeless Truth in Luke 11:21-22, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes from him all the arm on which he had relied and distributes his plunder.”

Also recall the Timeless Truth in Exodus 23:33, “They shall not live in your land because they will make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, they will surely be a snare to you.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Monitor the activities of the North Carolina legislature. Note who votes for and against the legislation, and frequently contact your elected representative and senator to ask questions, and give recommendations and encouragement. And, as always, study the Constitution and the Bill of Rights so you can see when legislation works to compromise them. In knowing the laws of the land, North Carolinians will be more equipped and strengthened to stand.

As Alexander Hamilton penned of Limited Government in 1788, “The propriety of a law in a constitutional light, must always be determined by the nature of the powers upon which it is founded.”

To learn more about this year’s ratified bills, visit the North Carolina General Assembly’s website at ncleg.gov/Legislation.

As we draw closer to the end of 2025, let’s recap the Constitutional accomplishments our state legislature achieved this year! This episode features bills Governor Stein signed into law.

Effective December 1st, 2025, House bill 251 prohibits State agencies from discriminating in disaster recovery assistance not only by race, color, religion, or national origin, but also by political affiliation or speech. Discrimination against disaster recovery assistance recipients because of political disagreements is a class 1 felony.

Effective upon signature in July, 2025, House bill 537, or Alena’s Law, declares that a person’s disappearance and continued absence for at least 90 days that coincides with a disaster declaration shall create a rebuttable presumption of that individual’s death. This puts a needed priority on voter roll cleanup and expedites in a timely manner the issuance of death certificates, among other key mandates. This bill was named after Mitchell County resident wife and mother Alena Ayers who was tragically swept away by Hurricane Helene floodwaters in 2024.

Effective upon signature in July, 2025, Senate bill 442, or the Parents Protection Act, prohibits accusations of abuse, neglect, or injurious environment against parents who decide to raise their children in accordance with the child’s biological gender, and adoption agencies cannot discriminate against foster parents who will raise adoptive children by the child’s biological gender.

Effective December 1st, 2025, Senate bill 55, or the Expedited Removal of Unauthorized Persons from Residential Property Act, streamlines the process for the eviction of squatters through the court system, and gives immunity to the property owner when the owner removes the squatter’s belongings from the residence after the squatter has refused to self-evict.

How does this legislation correspond with the LIFT principles? House Bill 537 helps remove dead and missing people from the voter rolls, preserving Limited Government in that their names cannot be used for someone else’s ballot. Senate bill 442 strengthens parental sovereignty under the principle of Individual Liberty, and Senate bill 55 protects private property owners’ land rights under Individual Liberty and Free Enterprise.

Remember the Timeless Truth in Jeremiah 29:7, “And seek the prosperity of the city to where I have removed you, and pray to YHWH for it, for in its peace you have peace.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Monitor the activities of the North Carolina legislature. Bills are restricted to one topic relating to the about clause, so North Carolinian bills are often very short reads and generally straightforward. Note who votes for and against the legislation, and frequently contact your elected representative and senator for questions, directions, and encouragements. And, as always, study the Constitution and the Bill of Rights so you can see when legislation works to undermine them. In knowing the laws of the land, North Carolinians will be more equipped to stand.

In the words of Founding Father and first Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay, “Every member of the State ought diligently to read and to study the constitution of his country, and teach the rising generation to be free…By knowing their rights, they will sooner perceive when they are violated, and be the better prepared to defend and assert them.”

To learn more about this year’s ratified bills, visit the North Carolina General Assembly’s website at ncleg.gov/Legislation.

A few years ago, the Republican-supermajority North Carolina General Assembly successfully overrode then-Governor Cooper’s veto of the Parent’s Bill of Rights, an act designed to facilitate parental involvement in their children’s education. Governor Cooper called it a “Don’t say gay” bill that prevents teachers from acting as “lifesaving” advisors for troubled students.

What does S49 actually say? The Parent’s Bill of Rights prohibits schools from Sex-Ed instruction until the fifth grade, and afterward parents can opt-out their children. S49 also restricts schools from drawing students’ blood or preforming medical treatment without parental consent, and gives parents full access to surveys that ask students to disclose their personal and family income, political views, sexual orientation and activity, mental stability, religious practices, and privileged access to legal consul and ministers.

It recently was revealed that at their Jan. 18, 2024 meeting, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District board of education publicly announced their disregard of S49 because they say the bill “legitimizes discrimination.” The chair, George Griffin, bragged that they are the only school board in the state to “stand up for their kids,” meaning that they have pursued the concealment of children’s medical information and sexual instruction from parents.

That may be true, but equally possible is that other school boards like Chapel Hill-Carrboro also quietly defy state law, deliberately undermining parents’ peace of mind, parental authority, and fostering a culture of family estrangement, noncommunication, and hostility.

In the strain of Individual Liberty and Limited Government, Founding Father James Wilson said in 1790, “It is the duty of parents to maintain their children decently, and according to their circumstances; to protect them according to the dictates of prudence; and to educate them according to the suggestions of a judicious and zealous regard for their usefulness, their respectability, and their happiness.”

If that sounds familiar, that’s because James Wilson is referencing the Timeless Truth found in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Also, recall another Timeless Truth in Romans 3:19-20: “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

So what do we do? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Learn who is on the local school boards. Watch school board meetings and listen to what members say. These are the people directing the education of current and future generations, and they must be held accountable if they work to foster distrust, alienation, and hate between children and parents. Finally, it is crucial to support board members who stand for the virtues of trust and transparency and advocate for the sanctity of parental knowledge and authority over what their children learn at school. Finally, training a child in the way that they should go necessitates parents modeling and discipling engagement. It is imperative for parents to discuss with their children their state laws and the Constitution, so that the students are equipped and strengthened to stand up for their rights at school and recognize the counterfeit.

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein says he champions safer communities. However, when our Republican-led General Assembly placed S153 on his desk, Governor Stein vetoed the bill.

S153 would require state agencies to confirm that recipients of state funds are in the country legally, and requires state law enforcement to cooperate with ICE and federal immigration law 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g). In his veto message, Governor Stein reasoned that verifying residency for state benefits is redundant, and requiring law enforcement to work with ICE would make North Carolinians “less safe.”

Would North Carolinians really be less safe without police/ICE partnership in removing violent illegal immigrants? Let’s look at recent crime rates in our nation’s capital. According to CrimeCards.DC.gov, July 2025 saw 2200 reported property and violent crimes. On August 11, President Trump invoked the 1973 Home Rule Act and declared a state of emergency by executive order. ICE was given the authority to remove violent illegal immigrants in the district.

By September, crime rate had dropped to 1800, then to 1500 reported crimes by October. In the 3 months since DC police started cooperating with ICE, there’s been a 32% decrease in the crime rate! This is a clear example of lawful immigration enforcement. Governor Stein is wrong — North Carolinians would be safer with police, civic, and citizen support of ICE!

Remember the Timeless Truth that applies to all nations at all times, found in Isiah 60:18: “Violence will not be heard again within your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders. But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.”

Governor Stein also does not think that North Carolina state agencies need to verify that recipients of state benefits are legal residents in the same way Democrats in the US Senate shut down the government on September 1st because they are adamant illegal immigrants receive federal benefits, impacting the livelihoods of millions of hardworking Americans.

Alexander Hamilton said of Limited Government in 1802, “It might be asked in return, does the right to asylum or hospitality carry with it the right to suffrage and sovereignty? …The impolicy of admitting foreigners to an immediate and unreserved participation in the right of suffrage, or in the sovereignty of a Republic, is as much a received axiom as any thing in the science of politics, and is verified by the experience of all ages. Among other instances, it is known, that hardly any thing contributed more to the downfall of Rome, than her precipitate communication of the privileges of citizenship to the inhabitants of Italy at large.”

The North Carolina Senate voted along party lines in July to override Governor Stein’s veto of S153. The House will vote on overriding the veto November 17, 2025.

So what do we do now? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Go to the polls to vote early or on Election Day, but the important thing is to show up and vote for moral and ethical individuals. Exercise your civic duty as an American!

To find if you have a municipal election in your town on November 4th, go to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, at ncsbe.gov.

Have you ever noticed that election yard signs never seem to leave? That’s because, in North Carolina, every year is an election cycle. The general elections are held on even-numbered years, and some towns hold their local elections on the “off-cycle” odd-numbered years.

However, they often see a drastically lower voter turnout. According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, while 74% of eligible voters showed up in 2024, only 16 percent showed up for 2023’s municipal races.

Why aren’t more voters turning out? Local elections don’t receive as much media attention, so awareness is lower. People decline to vote because they think that a small municipal election isn’t important, or that their vote doesn’t matter, even though smaller voter turnouts means a larger impact for every ballot cast!

The ballot is the cornerstone of our republic. In the words of Noah Webster, “When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God. The preservation of government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty. If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted.” Webster goes on to say, “Laws will be made not for the public good so much as for the selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenue will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded. If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the divine command and elect bad men to administer the laws.”

If that sounds like a Timeless Truth, it’s because Webster’s quoting Exodus 18:21 and Proverbs 29:2.

Exodus says, “But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.”

Proverbs says, “When the righteous are in authority the people rejoice. But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.”

So what do we do now? Here’s a meaningful way you can make a positive difference:

Go to the polls to vote early or on Election Day, but the important thing is to show up and vote for moral and ethical individuals. Exercise your civic duty as an American!

To find if you have a municipal election in your town on November 4th, go to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, at ncsbe.gov.