‘How North Carolina Just Passed a Blood-Curdling Anti-LGBT Law Right Before Our Eyes’, HuffPo
“HB2 is the most heinous, homophobic, transphobic law we have ever seen — just read it. McCrory, running for re-election in November, put out a statement that used transgender “bathroom panic,“ which LGBT leaders still have not figured out how to battle since the stunning defeat in Houston, to justify rescinding protections for thousands across the state. The new law basically rewrites the state’s civil rights laws to protect on the basis of race, color, country of origin, religion, age and “biological sex,” creating a new category meant to exclude transgender people.
How it overturns existing ordinances protecting LGBT people in localities — and seeks to get around the Supreme Court’s landmark Romer v. Evans decision — is by not singling LGBT people out: HB2 states that any local ordinances protecting any group that is not protected statewide with regard to wages, employment or public accommodations are officially rescinded. So, they’re not targeting LGBT people, they will tell you, legalistically — they’re targeting anyone and everyone equally.”
From the Washington Post:
“Supporters of the law argued that action was necessary to rein in local governments from overreaching in their authority, and to protect women and children. The new law forbids municipalities from passing their own anti-discrimination rules; rather, it imposes a statewide standard that leaves out sexual orientation and gender identity. It also prohibits county and city governments from requiring local businesses to pay a minimum wage above the current state level of $7.25 per hour. In tweets this week, McCrory said he signed the legislation “to stop the breach of basic privacy and etiquette, ensure privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms.” He said Charlotte’s ordinance “defied common sense, allowing men to use women’s bathroom/locker room for instance.”
The Greenboro News:
“In North Carolina, however, it’s painfully obvious that official state policy is hostile to the gay and transgender communities. From Amendment One to a law allowing state officials to refuse to facilitate legal same-sex marriages to, now, repealing local protections against discrimination, the state of North Carolina has made it abundantly clear that this population is unwelcome — whatever attitudes cities hold to the contrary.
It’s disappointing that Gov. Pat McCrory immediately signed the bill. A sweeping measure with statewide impact was introduced, voted on and signed into law all in one day, with virtually no time allowed for public and business input — although major corporations are sounding alarms now.”
But oh, my, have folks been fighting back, and good on them! They’re pushing for the sanctimonious anti-human rights bill to be repealed. Protests have been going on since Thursday. I will say for the record that ‘no time allowed for business input’ might have been better said ‘no time for moral or ethical suasion’. But as we know, bidness speaks more loudly than considerations of human rights.
And yes; I fervently believe that the women and children can handle gender neutral bathrooms. But if at first they can’t, it could lead to some enlightening bathroom discussions, yes?
https://twitter.com/jillography/status/713137612643508228
(click to enlarge and read the following)
https://twitter.com/EpicSammyJames/status/713708267093041153
Please, please know that it will get better; love, in the end, is stronger than hate. There are so many bigots abroad, but we are many, and will create the power and better angels we need…in the long run. “If we poison our children with hatred, then a hard life is all that they’ll know”.
davidly
Greyson Smythe
LeMoyne
juliania2
ohiobarbarian
stephenadavis1
wendyedavis
café babylon 
The preachers have been flogging this issue for quite a while in NC. And the NC GOP sees it as a way to turn out the religious voters with passion. That explains the rabbit-scared Democratic House members, who are more geographically diverse than the Senate. The NC Democratic Party seems to be a carbon-copy of the DNC at the moment, seeking to seize defeat in order to rake in the bucks and avoid work.
The telling thing about the scope of the legislation is the vagueness of the section that allows businesses to refuse service on whatever basis they choose. It is a broad-scale reintroduction of Jim Crow practices. And the national political level is so confused at the moment that it could stick and metastasize to other states.
The balance strangely is large corporations, in which large corporations now have some LGBT employees with some influence and those corporations who are aware of how large their LGBT customer base is. There is a real threat to strip NC of being able to host NCAA tournaments (especially in basketball). That strikes directly at Greensboro, which tends to be a GOP business-friendly city and brings in revenue and jobs every year in March for the early rounds of the NCAA tournament. Charlotte and Raleigh, the other NCAA tournament spots tend to be LGBT friendly, which is why the Charlotte City Council passed the non-discrimination ordinance. Like much else in NC, this political struggle is a city mouse-country mouse struggle, with suburbs swinging (heh) and minorities conflicted. Or better said, the extra dollop of bigotry in the refusal of service section could likely ally LGBT folks working to eliminate this ban and a broad range of black, Hispanic, and Asian organizations.
The Moral Monday movement institutionally is already in the sweet spot for organizing. However, it’s failure to shift the legislature in 2014 shows how much some of the country mice need to be involved in eliminating this legislation. Not to mention the effects of megachurch ministries in politicizing and promoting wedge issues like this among the city mice.
NC has quite an electoral fight on its hands this year. A decade of state Democratic malpractice is coming home to roost.
thanks for all of that, thd. but oh, no; ‘north carolina can’t have cities makin’ their own lgbt rules for protections, it’s just impolite to the women and chirren! and ho ho: raising pay for rabble workers? not on yer nellie!’
yes, telesur had a squib this a.m. on the nba balking a bit at the new law and keeping the all-star game in…are you saying greensboro? i’d thought charlotte, ergo their laws enumerating protections, and good on them.
what do you mean about the black preachers having been flogging the issue? and the scared rabbits: was it this law that someone said an unknown fact was that many dems who were against the amendment…voted for it later due to intense pressure from the moral majority?
NC equality is interested in fighting back legally, as ‘may be’ the state aclu (some of those groups are cowardly).
it just can’t be allowed to stand, can it? i just weep when i think of how much fear trans folks live with daily (#say their names), then this ugliness codifying that bigotry. holy hell in a handbasket; they are monstrous.
there was a tweet showing which corporations have come out against it, but i had a hella time embedding tweets on this one, and also it was uglee (h/t jean paul sartre). ;-) then this came in:
@Joey_Powell · Mar 23
“Also, #HB2 also says that a parent cannot accompany a child 6 or older to the restroom, even if that child is handicapped.” jeezum crow, yes: everyone, see? not just lgbt!
here’s hoping that the arc of the moral universe bending toward justice…hurries its bending the hell up. and yeah, sadly, bidness voices are the loudest.
happy easter; b at moa out this faust’s easter walk up.
You pretty much got it. Didn’t know about the parental restroom ban. It could very well be parents of handicapped children that results in this one being either repealed or revised.
Yes, it seems like the spring offensive to oust DAESH is beginning. Mosul likely is the last to be dealt with.
more power to you for following the big daesh picture; i’ve all but given up. so many stories on the kurds, as well, esp. in rojava. (thierry meissan, landdestroyer, NE outlook, etc.)
i’d actually looked to find moral mondays on the twit machine, and if i found the right one (naacp) there were no tweets since…2015? o was it their facebook page? ya sure ya won’t rent me some of your excess memory capacity?
love to miz thd. did ya get my raggedy family? (to the nsa, fbi, and dhs: that’s code) ;-)
That’s a hoot. Yes she did. Loved them.
I’m on the Moral Majority email list. Their latest is opposition to McCrory’s LBGT legislation. The reinstitution of Jim Crow indeed caught their attention and transcended whatever division there might be among the preachers over LGBT rights. And yes, it is a project of the NC NAACP.
‘Lawsuit challenges constitutionality of North Carolina LGBT discrimination law’; Lawsuit led by advocacy groups claims new law violates a slew of constitutional rights including equal protection clause, right to privacy and Title XI’, the guardian
“The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina, Lambda Legal and Equality North Carolina brought the litigation, which charges the state and the University of North Carolina with a wide range of unconstitutional acts.
The suit said the law violated the constitution’s equal protection clause by discriminating against people based on gender; the right to privacy, because it will force transgender people to out themselves; Title IX, which prohibits educational institutions that receive public funds from discriminating based on gender; and the right to refuse unwanted medical treatment, because to access facilities consistent with their gender identity, transgender people must undergo medical procedures, even against a doctor’s advice.” [snip to the end]
“Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC, said on Monday lawmakers passed the bill “hastily and without consideration of consequences”.
“HB2 is the most sweeping anti-LGBT law in the nation and it will not stand the test of time and the test of federal court,” he said.”
Equality NC announcement
The folks who did this are hoping to stack the Supreme Court by the time this case reaches it. Chris Sgro is correct only to the extent that the 2016 election does not have Ted Cruz nominating justices and appeals court judges. Watch other “Freedom Party” states try the same legislation to put multiple states out there.
Nathan Deal in Georgia campaigned on being business-friendly. He vetoed their LGBT discrimination bill because the Georgia Chamber of Commerce does not want to be an pariah state. There’s a split emerging among conservatives because of that.
i agree that Sgro was swaggering, given what might be ahead. and that other states will mimic this, or try. interesting that nathan deal downed it due to chamber of commerce considerations. goddam, bidness talks, dudn’t it?
‘pariah state’: now there’s a concept. oof: scotus; some biggies pending. will they vote on reproductive rights, union killing…or will they wait and hear the cases again?
cruz control: it’s gettin’ raggedy! (get over it, security state watchers: it’s encrypted entombed enciphered. pffffft.)
sleep well, mon ami. i have a date with jackie robinson #42. ;-)
another such deal veto, only stated planned ‘repeal’
‘Louisiana Gov. to Rescind Predecessor’s Antigay Order’; John Bel Edwards says he will soon repeal Bobby Jindal’s Marriage and Conscience Order, which allows for antigay discrimination.
Cripes; an EO since it failed to pass into legislation: the marriage and conscience order.
http://www.advocate.com/politics/2016/3/28/louisiana-gov-rescind-predecessors-antigay-order
NC: you can’t look at our agribusinesses, but we can stick a camera in your bathroom stalls. Chamber of commerce types are thrilled at ag-gag laws but it looks bad, today, to be on the wrong side of certain LGBTQ issues.
you said it right, amigo. but bidness is bidness, and what’s bad for bidness is…in this case a bit of a gift horse many lgbt don’t want to look in the mouth. who can blame them, though?
jeezum crow, though; i thought you might have been stolen by gypsies. nice to see you…
can you remember where we were discussing Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association? i even put up a video or two., and can’t find the discussion. anyhoo, SCOTUS just kinda sorta ruled on it, as per email from scotusblog, and i’ll stick it up soon. i did stick up a post on el presidente’s visit with macri. far worse than i’d imagined, it was. and now he’s trying to shut out telesur from cable packages or something. cretin.
sorry, i don’t remember friedrichs v CTA. of course i read your macri post. trying to block telesur? i miss w. i miss him cutting mesquite brush down on the range in the texas heat and talking about “how hard” they are working. and pretending to know spanish. i know that’s a non-seq. i’m so frickin’ tired of obama. if harpy-hearted hilary is elected…ugh. tired of these lawyer/manager bureaucrats.
i suppose a marxoid type would say the unleashing of productive forces under capitalism contains liberatory potential energy, if only in that all the established verities of social relations (incl. marriage, gender identity, etc.) are upended by the needs of capital for labor. i’m not sure that’s the whole story; patriarchy precedes capitalism for sure and i don’t think a person’s identity is quite as rational as marxists tend to assert. but there’s a great deal of truth there. maybe a small victory, but the responsiveness of CoC types to social pressure on this issue should be noted. if gays can marry/etc., maybe we can get rid of the profit motive?
i’m sorry; somehow i’d thought you were part of that conversation. damn, i am so weary of my degrading memory banks.
friedrichs was to be the test case to be the final nail in unions, the lawsuit claiming ‘fuck unions! we don’t wanna pay some minuscule fee for collective bargaining wins that…that…are won by unions!’ now scotus has ruled a tie, and a re-hearing has been filed for when there is a ninth justice. so…a short reprieve, although the CA teachers are naturally delighted w/ the tie, leaving a lower court ruling standing…for now, although i dunno if they took note of that.
you’ve got me on marxian dialectics; i don’t have a clue, jason. but patriarchy i yam quite familiar with, as well as ‘The Other’. i was trying to find the post i was asking about, and discovered ‘‘Today Is #TransDayOfVisibility & Indiana’s New Anti-LGBT Law’ , march 31, 2015, café babylon, making me wonder what other odious anti-lgbt laws have been left standing. so much hatred, so much fear, so much feigned ‘morality’.
oh, this is just one of the relevant posts at telesur, not the one i was seeking anew.
Apparently this legislation was an election year turn-out gimmick to shore up Pat McCrory’s sagging approval rating. The idea was to have an issue to reduce the vote for popular Democrat Roy Cooper by putting him in a bind between losing rural voters and losing LGBTQ voters. Roy Cooper did not waffle; he came out boldly saying that as attorney general of the state he would not defend HB2. He must have some idea of sentiment in the state about HB2.
With all the out-of-state corporate opposition, it is easy to overlook the opposition to the bill by former CEO of Bank Of America, Hugh McColl, Jr., who is actually the man who turned the largest national bank in the state before interstate banking into the owner of Bank of America, moving the headquarters to Charlotte. True, his generic CEO successor was one of the fraudsters who triggered the Great Recession and was fired by the board. Hugh McColl was the son of a small town banker in the town of McColl–get the picture–before he rose to be CEO of North Carolina National Bank and as legendary in the state as Warren Buffet is nationally. Kind of a big deal for the state establishment.
Local political analyst Tom Sullivan (on Digby’s Hullabaloo) thinks that McCrory assumes that all he needs is voter, having Art Pope’s money and possibly the Koch brothers’ money in hand. The problem is that the large NC closet means that the McCrory campaign does not know how many LGBTQ voters are actually out there who in the secret confines of the voting booth might vote against their ideology and economic interest and also against McCrory. Cooper is pretty well known in the state, is from a rural county (Nash), is well likely and repeatedly elected statewide. Ideologically, Cooper is your standard issue Southern Democratic business-friendly governor material. The failure of Cooper to win in November means that North Carolina, after gaining so many transplants from out of state, has departed from the forward-looking state it was beginning in 1960 and ending in 2010 for a very long time and that the last of the liberal Democratic Southern parties is as dead as those in South Carolina and Alabama. It also means the reintroduction of private discretionary Jim Crow discrimination might take hold permanently, making it and not South Carolina the vanguard of the new legitimation of bigotry. Of course, a Cooper win without a corresponding win in the legislature could mean the same thing.
bless your pea-pickin’ heart for all of this, my friend. i have to admit that my brain has shut down far too already to grok all of the moving parts and characters you’re bringing. i will look forward to trying to understand it in the a.m.
sleep well, love to miz thd, and save some for yourownself.
okey-dokey; i’ve looked up some of the names and think i can understand now. the cooper v. mcCrory contest is yet to be decided, which i didn’t understand from the verb tenses you’d used. indeed i hadn’t known he’s running for gov. i needed to update myself on art pope’s various right-wing funding foundations as well. egad.
and that cooper won’t defend hb2 when it *goes to court*; i hadn’t been sure what you’d meant up yonder. soooo…given that hugh mcColl is a force of nature in NC, what will that mean for the law’s survival?
and not to be a thick-wit, but could you explain this, please? “The problem is that the large NC closet means that the McCrory campaign does not know how many LGBTQ voters are actually out there who in the secret confines of the voting booth might vote against their ideology and economic interest and also against McCrory.” as in: which ideologies and economic interests? and then anti-bigots as well, eh?
As in How many LBGTQ Republicans who voted for McCrory in 2012 will change their votes to Cooper or sit out this year just because of this law? And how many business folks who understand how much their business depends on LBGTQ patrons?
Hugh McColl used to have a lot of sway with the business community statewide. Given that he’s been retired at least a decade, I’m not sure what it means but yes he was sort of a political force of nature in NC back in the day.
oh, bother. once again i need to learn to read. i’d somehow thought you’d written ‘vote against their *self-interest*, which R construct is so often self-defeating in the longer run. but i do understand now you were speaking of R votes changing to Cooper, and thank you.
then again, how many former mcCory voters are against this insane bigotry but not lgbt themselves…(and not just for the dollars lost potential).
my goodness, the irony. either yesterday or today was ‘trans day of visibility‘. i’d wondered why my other diary on the same was dated mid-march…