Representative Vernetta Alston

 

FAST FACTS

Name: Vernetta Alston

District: 29 (Durham)

In office since: 2020

Key Committees: Appropriations, Health & Human Services, Federal Relations & American Indian Affairs, Judiciary 4, & Transportation

Previous job: Durham City Councilmember

FEATURED BILL: EQUALITY FOR ALL

Ninety-three percent of North Carolinians live in municipalities that don’t have full protections for LGBTQ individuals, meaning people can be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or gender identity when looking for a place to live or applying for a job.

That’s why this March, Representative Alston introduced the Equality for All bill along with colleagues Reps. Harrison and Fisher and Sens. Murdock, Marcus, and Nickel.

The bill would extend LGBTQ non-discrimination protections statewide, in areas related to housing, employment, public accommodations, lending practices, insurance, education, and jury service.

This legislation is essential to ensuring that everyone in North Carolina is afforded basic human rights. “I want to be able to go to a restaurant and know that my right to be there with my family is protected by the state I call home,” Rep. Alston said at a virtual press conference for the bill.