Harris in Charlotte: 'Four More Years,' 'How Dare They' and a Law North Carolina Passed Over Cooper's Veto (June 24, 2023)

Vice President Kamala Harris came to Charlotte, North Carolina, on the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, and the crowd greeted her with a campaign chant. “Four more years!” an audience member shouted. “Four more years,” Harris repeated. The crowd picked it up: “Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!” [1]

“Thank you, all. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, all. Oh, it’s good to be back in North Carolina, I can tell you that,” Harris said [1].

She soon thanked her husband. “I also want to thank my husband, the first Second Gentleman of the United States,” she said. The transcript records that she laughed [1].

The video above shows the start of Harris’s June 24, 2023, speech at the Grady Cole Center. Quotes are from the official White House transcript [1].

”Outraged, I Called My Husband”

Harris told the crowd where she was when Roe fell. “I was actually on my way traveling from Washington, D.C., to a maternal health event in Illinois when I heard the news. Outraged, I called my husband, Doug, because there were a collection of words that were coming to mind that would not have been proper for me to speak with some other people,” she said, to laughter [1].

“And so, the three words that came to me that I publicly spoke — (laughter) — were ‘How dare they.’ ‘How dare they.’ ‘How dare they,’” Harris said [1].

”Before the Elevator”

She went after old state laws. “We knew that old abortion bans would immediately go back into effect — one which was written in 1849. Now check this out. 1849 — 1849 — before women had the right to vote. 1849 — before the elevator, the telephone, and even the lightbulb had been invented,” Harris said [1].

She used a line she would repeat in Florida a month later. “Book bans. Book bans in this year of our Lord 2023?” she said [1].

She put a number on it. “Right now, in our country, 23 million women of reproductive age live in a state with an extreme abortion ban in effect,” she said, naming “States like Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Wisconsin” [1].

“And, North Carolina, please let us do note the hypocrisy at play with these extremist so-called leaders,” Harris said. “Just consider: Over half of the counties in Georgia, Oklahoma, and Texas have no OBGYN. I did not say ‘a few.’ I said ‘none.’ Not one.” [1]

She tied abortion to other fights. “It’s a lot of these same folks that attack the right to vote, that prevent the teaching of America’s full history with book bans,” she said [1].

She also told the crowd that “extremist ‘so-called leaders’ in states across our nation have proposed or passed more than 350 new laws to restrict these freedoms” [1].

”Roy and I Actually Served Together”

Harris praised the state’s Democratic governor. “I want to thank my longstanding and dear friend, the Governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper,” she said. “Roy and I actually served together when I was attorney general of California and he was attorney general of North Carolina.” [1]

The Law Cooper Could Not Stop

Weeks before her visit, North Carolina’s legislature had passed Senate Bill 20, the “Care for Women, Children, and Families Act,” over Cooper’s veto, according to the state legislature’s records [2].

On May 16, 2023, the state Senate voted 30 to 20 to override the veto, and the House followed that night, 72 to 48. The bill became Session Law 2023-14 the same day [2]. The legislature lists its subjects as running from “ABORTION; ADOPTION” to “DAY CARE” and “FOSTER CARE” [2].

Harris addressed the law directly. “And next week, overruling the will of the people, North Carolina will be the latest state with an extreme ban, in spite of the best efforts of Governor Roy Cooper,” she said [1].

She mocked the politicians behind such laws. “Now, what most of us here know is that many women don’t even know they are pregnant at six weeks — which, by the way, tells us most of these politicians don’t even understand how a woman’s body actually works,” Harris said [1].

Near the end, Harris said: “So, North Carolina, let’s stand because we believe medical decisions should be made by a woman and her doctor, not politicians.” She closed: “And, again, I will say: When we fight, we win.” [1]

By the Numbers

1849: the year of the old law Harris cited [1].
350+: state laws Harris said had been proposed or passed [1].
30-20 and 72-48: the North Carolina Senate and House votes to override Cooper’s veto [2].
16: North Carolina’s electoral votes, all won by Donald Trump in 2024 [3].

What Happened Next

North Carolina went red. In November 2024, Trump carried North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes, according to the National Archives [3].

Harris lost. As the Democratic nominee, Harris won 226 electoral votes to Trump’s 312 [3].

For her appearance with President Joe Biden the day before, see HYGO News’ page on the Mayflower event, and for her “book bans” line a month later, the page on Jacksonville.