Brian Turner - NC House 116

09/19/2026

Election season is reaching a fever pitch and attack ads are flying like flies to manure. The GOP has re-upped their attacks on the transgender community (honestly the attacks never went away) trying to tap into anti-LGBTQ bigotry and xenophobia.

In March I gave a speech about this and right now feels like a good time to share it more broadly.

TL/DR - Trans rights are human rights

"10 years ago this month North Carolina passed HB2, the bathroom bill. I was in the second year of my first term in the state house, the election was just a few months away, I voted against HB2. This bill was so universally reviled it cost North Carolina tens of millions of dollars in economic growth. We lost the NBA All-Star Game, the ACC tournament and Pat McCrory did what no other Governor had ever done before he lost his bid for reelection.

Just last week the state of Kansas passed a bill that invalidated the driver's licenses and birth certificates of the entire transgender community. This Bill said that if your documents did not match your s*x assigned at birth that they were invalid and that you would be required to replace them with new documents and a different gender marker.

Just like HB2 this is an act of government sanctioned stochastic terrorism, the public demonization of a person or group resulting in the increased probability of violent acts against them.

For years the Democratic Party has stood as allies with the LGBTQ+ community, and they have stood with us. That’s what allies do. True friends show up in tough times and right now things are getting tougher and tougher for the transgender community. Last year multiple bills in NC were introduced attacking the trans community and only Gov. Stein’s veto has stopped them from becoming law.

When HB2 was happening I represented the most Republican leaning district of any Democrat in the state, an R+6. I voted against HB2 because it was the right thing to do even though I was told it was the wrong thing to do politically. The message I want to leave you with is if we stand with our allies, if we stick to our values, if we don’t try to hide or dither on where we stand as a candidate or as a party, we win.

We need to show our allies we are with them. Gay rights are human rights, q***r rights are human rights, trans rights are human rights."

08/30/2026

A great night at Hickory Nut Gap with almost every Democratic candidate west of I-77 and hundreds of supporters.

Special shoutout to Lynne Russo, Mark Burrows for NC House, Charlie Wallin for NC House and the indomitable Lindsey Prather for NC House who represent four key races we need to win in November. These are our Mountain Movers and I hope you will support them with both your time and your treasure. I'm working to raise $5,000 for each candidate, please chip in and help here:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mountainmovers

08/19/2026

We should probably cut back on avocado toast and fancy coffee.

https://www.wsj.com/economy/u-s-debt-just-topped-40-trillion-how-we-got-here-c1c6c9d2?st=EJVjD7&reflink=article_copyURL_share

The U.S. has reached a new borrowing milestone in its struggle to get hold of its finances.

08/05/2026

Today we are holding a special session in the old Capitol to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.

Fun fact: I sit in seat 120 in the new chamber but there are only 119 seats in the old chamber. They didn’t include a seat for the Speaker who would be at the dais. So today I am sitting in seat 109, Speaker Destin Hall’s seat. I offered to preside so he could sit in his seat but he politely declined.

Luckily there was another empty seat so my usual seat mate Rep. Sarah Crawford was able to join me.

07/27/2026

07/27/2026

There are times when you can't call 9-1-1. It isn't safe, there isn't good service, or you may be deaf or hard of hearing.

North Carolina Department of Information Technology recognizes that everyone needs to be able to get help in an emergency so they have worked to deploy "text to 9-1-1" across NC.

07/18/2026

This week I was able to join Governor Josh Stein and Mayor Esther Manheimer in celebration of another Helene recovery effort when Velma Chapman was handed the keys to a brand new home that replaced her home that was destroyed in the storm.

Renew NC's Single-Family Housing program has been working to repair and in some cases completely rebuild homes that were lost in the storm.

The latest state budget included $700 million for recovery efforts including $40+ million in temporary rental assistance which will help folks find temporary housing so their homes can be repaired. This will allow programs like Renew NC to help more people and help them faster.

Gov. Josh Stein visited an Asheville resident in her new home July 15 and advocated for more funding for the state's housing recovery program.

07/16/2026

craft-itarianism (craft-uh-TAIR-ee-uh-niz-um):
The use of craft to add joy, distribute resources, and foster a sense of community in the everyday lives of specific at-risk or marginalized people.

Example:
"Using craft as a way to help humans is craft-itarianism."

For generations craft has played a critical role for our mountain community. Holding the traditions of our mountain home while allow each generation to build on the previous creating new and refreshing art.

Earlier this week I was able to help announce four $100,000 grants given by Etsy to WNC craft organizations as part of a larger $10 million national Craft Catalyst Initiative.

These unrestricted grants will help ensure our region is able to continue to be a hub for craft.

NC Gov. Josh Stein and Anna Stein joined Etsy and Center for Craft in Asheville to announce a $10 million investment supporting makers and creative economies.

07/10/2026

What the hell is going wrong in our country and our state? The expectation of political violence is not and cannot be the “new normal”.

I read a lot of Isaac Asimov growing up (yeah I was kind of a nerd) and I remember his quote “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent"

We must stand against all violence and the threat of it against those who would use it to undermine our democracy and free and fair elections.

If you are an elected official afraid of people voting you are afraid of accountability for your actions.

Protect voting rights, protect access to the polls, and protect our democracy.

Most North Carolinians expect political violence during the 2026 election cycle. And about one in every four or five voters say they’d be more likely to support candidates who refuse to condemn violence against the other side.

07/08/2026

My friend Keith Mason is now officially the executive director of the Buncombe Democrats. Hell yeah!

Keith was part of Team Turner that helped defeat Moffitt and flip the R+6 district 116 in 2014. Since then Keith has gone on to work for several organizations that support the ideals we hold dear, free speech, body autonomy, and free & fair elections.

I've known Keith since he was knee high to a grasshopper (which is something my grandmother never said) or 2014 whichever came first.

Congrats to Keith and please enjoy this video of Keith helping me with the "Ice Bucket Challenge"

NC House District 116 candidate Brian Turner participates in ALS ...