Chris Sgro

Chris Sgro
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 58th district
Assumed office
2016
Preceded by Ralph C. Johnson
Constituency Greensboro, NC
Personal details
Born Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Ryan Butler (m. 2006)
Residence Greensboro, NC
Alma mater American University

Christopher Michael Sgro is an American political strategist best known for his work advocating for LGBT rights in North Carolina. In 2016, Sgro was appointed by Democrats in Guilford County to the North Carolina House of Representatives to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Ralph C. Johnson.[1] He has been the executive director of Equality NC since 2013.[2]

Sgro has been one of the most vocal opponents of North Carolina's House Bill 2, a controversial North Carolina law which he has called "the worst anti-LGBT legislation in the nation."[3] He has often publicly clashed with the governor over the impact of House Bill 2, demanding its full repeal.[4]

A native of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania,[5] Sgro graduated from American University with a bachelor's degree in political science.[6]

Sgro was formerly director of economic development for US Senator Kay Hagan and a member of the senator's senior staff, a position which he held for more than four years and which took him to 97 of North Carolina’s 100 counties. Prior to that, he was one of the first staffers hired by Hagan to work on her successful 2008 U.S. Senate campaign.[6]

Prior to his work with Hagan, Sgro worked in the Washington, D.C. headquarters for America Votes, a 501 (c)4 organization that aims to coordinate and promote progressive issues, and CARE, a national anti-poverty organization. Additionally, Sgro managed Don Vaughan’s successful N.C. Senate campaign in 2008.[6] Sgro also worked extensively on Jamie Raskin's successful primary bid to defeat the then president pro tem of the Maryland State Senate in 2006.[7]

Sgro lives in Greensboro, North Carolina and is married to Ryan Butler. The couple had a marriage ceremony in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 2006, but became legally married in North Carolina on October 10, 2014, where they were the second same-sex couple to receive a marriage license in Guilford County, North Carolina.[8][9][10]

References

  1. ↑ WGHP/Fox 8: Leader of LGBT rights organization named to state Legislature
  2. ↑ Fain, Travis (20 August 2013). "Hagan's Sgro headed to Equality NC". News and Record. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "North Carolina governor signs controversial transgender bill". 24 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Pat McCrory Has Lost It".
  5. ↑ Gibbons, Margaret (5 May 2002). "Committee members are your eyes and ears". The Reporter. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Ladd, Susan (16 February 2014). "NC group continues fight for gay rights". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Marimow, Ann (16 August 2007). "The Real Democrat". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Same-sex couple marries in Greensboro, N.C.". News and Record. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  9. ↑ Davis, Jonnelle (10 October 2014). "'This trumps anything in my life'". News and Record. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  10. ↑ DeVane, Steve (10 October 2014). "Federal judge strikes down same-sex marriage ban in N.C.". Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
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