Progressive groups and lawmakers blasted state politicians after North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed a bill Wednesday night that keeps cities from passing anti-discrimination measures.
The new law, rushed through a special session of the legislature called by McCrory, was ostensibly intended to block a Charlotte ordinance that would provide protections for LGBT individuals in public spaces, but LGBT advocates note the law goes much farther.
“Governor McCrory’s reckless decision to sign this appalling legislation into law is a direct attack on the rights, well-being, and dignity of hundreds of thousands of LGBT North Carolinians and visitors to the state,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said in a statement. “This outrageous new law not only strips away the ability of local jurisdictions to protect LGBT people from discrimination, but it goes further and targets transgender students who deserve to be treated equally at school — not harassed and excluded. Governor McCrory’s action will be judged sorely by history and serve as a source of deep shame, remorse, and regret.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina criticized the General Assembly for scheduling a special session to pass the legislation.
“Rather than expand nondiscrimination laws to protect all North Carolinians, the General Assembly instead spent $42,000 to rush through an extreme bill that undoes all local nondiscrimination laws and specifically excludes gay and transgender people from legal protections,” Sarah Preston, the acting director of the ACLU of North Carolina said in a statement. “The manner in which legislators passed the most extreme anti-LGBT bill in the nation – voting hours after it was unveiled without adequate public debate – flies in the face of fairness and democracy.”
U.S. Rep. David Price (D-NC) also criticized the General Assembly for pushing discrimination in a special session.
The #NCGA won’t hold a special session to raise teacher salaries, but they will come back to legislate discrimination? Enough is enough!
— David E. Price (@RepDavidEPrice) March 23, 2016
Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz slammed North Carolina Republicans for “steamrolling over local officials just because they had the courage to stand up for transgender rights.”
McCrory defended the legislation as merely an attempt to protect “privacy and etiquette” in bathrooms and as a bipartisan bill.
I signed bipartisan legislation to stop the breach of basic privacy and etiquette, ensure privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms.
— Pat McCrory (@PatMcCroryNC) March 24, 2016
But the bill also prohibits local governments protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in addition to directing schools and other public places to require individuals to use bathrooms that align with their biological sex.
While some Democratic members of the North Carolina House voted for the bill, the Democratic members of the state Senate walked out of the vote on the bill in protest.
Equality North Carolina noted in its statement condemning the state bill, that the legislation was not only about bathroom use.
“This cruel and insulting bill is about more than bathroom access, it’s about fairness in employment, education, and local governance,” Chris Sgro, the executive director of Equality North Carolina, said in a statement. “It aims to override local school board policies, local public accommodations laws, and more. This law also violates many other federal statutes and the United States Constitution by attempting to mandate discrimination in government buildings.”
Lamda Legal, along with the ACLU and Equality North Carolina, is considering legal action following passage of the bill.
“This law is in direct conflict with protections provided to students under Title IX and could cause the state to lose billions in federal funds. Instead of solving any real problems, the law would create new ones and could lead to intolerable and unfair conditions for transgender students who are entitled, by federal law, to a safe and equitable education,” Tara Borelli, a senior attorney with Lamda Legal said in a statement.
