An effort to rename a Winston-Salem post office turned out to be surprisingly controversial this week in Congress.

A measure to rename a Winston-Salem post office for poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou attracted opposition from nine Republicans. U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, D-12, introduced the bill, which passed by an overwhelming count of 371 to 9. It was co-sponsored by every member of the North Carolina congressional delegation.

The nine Republicans who opposed the measure were Reps. Mo Brooks of Alabama, Ken Buck of Colorado, Michael Burgess of Texas, Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, Andy Harris of Maryland, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Alex Mooney and Steven Palazo of Mississippi. Brooks explicitly called Angelou a communist sympathizer. He accused Angelou of supporting Fidel Castro’s “regime of civil rights suppresion, toture and murder of freedom-loving Cubans.”

In an emailed statement, Adams said she was disappointed with the opposition to her bill.

“These nine Republicans chose to blatantly disrespect an extraordinary woman who worked to crush gender and racial barriers in our country,” Adams said. “In true Maya Angelou fashion, I believe when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. Their actions are a yet another painful addition to radical Republican obstructionism.”

Winston-Salem was Angelou’s primary residence for a number of years. It was also where Angelou died in 2014.

Poll asks North Carolinians about gun violence

A majority of North Carolinians say second amendment rights are more important than protecting people from gun violence, according to a poll released this week by High Point University.

The poll interviewed 476 adults in North Carolina by phone from Feb. 18 to Feb. 25. The poll asked voters about a number of issues, including approval ratings for public officials, a bond issue on the March 15 primary ballot, foreign policy and guns.

The poll gave respondents an option to choose whether they favored protecting constitutional rights of gun ownership or protecting people from gun violence. A total of 57 percent of all respondents thought constitutional rights were more important.

The poll also asked respondents about a number of proposals to reduce gun violence. Most results to the policy questions were close. The only widely supported policy proposals were criminal background checks, services for mentally ill people and enforcing existing laws.

A majority of respondents said they opposed allowing teachers to bring guns to school. Most respondents also opposed reducing access to violent movies and video games.

Hudson’s bill passes House

A bill that aims to connect people with job training programs and cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson passed the U.S. House this week.

Hudson cosponsored the bill with Rep. Bobby Rush, a Democrat from Illinois. It directs the U.S. Secretary of Energy to work with industry to find modern-day skills needed by employers. The secretary would then encourage state education agencies to equip students with the skills, according to the bill.

In response to his bill’s passage in the House, Hudson said he hopes to continue work with Democrats to put North Carolinians back to work.

“America’s energy revolution has created a record number of high-skilled, good-paying jobs, but too often folks are not equipped to take advantage of these opportunities,” Hudson said in an emailed statement. “Today’s bipartisan bill will close the skills gap by strengthening job-training programs and empowering workers to get and keep 21st century energy and manufacturing jobs.”

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.