Amid Backlash, McCrory Softens LGBT Law
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) issued an executive order last week intended to mitigate growing national backlash to legislation he signed last month that critics contend discriminates against the LGBT community.
The bill came in response to an ordinance adopted in Charlotte in February that would have revised anti-discrimination laws to grant LGBT people protection in places of “public accommodation.” The change would have codified the right of transgender North Carolinians to use the bathrooms of the gender for which they identify, effective April 1. But the Legislature pre-empted that from happening, passing HB 2 in March. That measure – dubbed “the bathroom bill” - bars local governments from adopting their own anti-discrimination measures and requires transgender persons to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender at birth. It also prevents transgender people from suing over discrimination.
The law caused an almost immediate nationwide furor. Several governors quickly barred all non-essential state-sponsored travel to North Carolina. Scores of major corporations, including Bank of America, Google, Apple, Facebook, American Airlines, Starbucks, IBM, the NFL and the NBA, denounced the measure. PayPal and Deutsche Bank called off plans to expand into the Tar Heel State. Although the bill’s supporters say over 300 companies have indicated their support, they have so far released the names of only 38, many of which are faith-based organizations. To date, at least four groups have cancelled conventions in Charlotte, nine more planning conventions have removed the city from consideration and as many as 29 have indicated the law may cause them to also look elsewhere. The NBA has said it might pull the 2017 All Star Game from the city as well. Rock superstar Bruce Springsteen also cited the law for cancelling a show in Greensboro, as did Lionsgate studios for moving production of a new comedy show from Charlotte to Canada.
With no end in sight, McCrory last week issued Executive Order 93, a directive he said will “affirm and improve the state’s commitment to privacy and equality.” McCrory’s order extends anti-discrimination protection to LGBT workers employed by the state and allows local governments to make the same extension, though they are still blocked from adopting their own community-wide standards. The governor said he will also ask lawmakers to quickly adopt legislation to restore the right of LGBT people to sue for discrimination. He also decried what he called “a great deal of misinformation, misinterpretation, confusion, a lot of passion and frankly, selective outrage and hypocrisy, especially against the great state of North Carolina.”
The order drew kudos from supporters like House Speaker Tim Moore (R), who accused the media of “unfairly” reporting on the bill. “Governor McCrory’s executive order affirms the importance of the actions the General Assembly took in passing the Bathroom Bill to protect North Carolina citizens from extremists’ efforts to undermine civility and normalcy in our everyday lives,” he said.
Not surprisingly, however, it did little to appease the critics. State Attorney General Roy Cooper (D) – who has said he would not defend the law from lawsuits seeking to overturn it - called it “a day late and a veto short,” adding “The sweeping discrimination law he signed has already cost North Carolina hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue. I’m glad Governor McCrory has finally acknowledged the great damage his legislation has done, but he needs to do much more.”
LGBT rights advocates also dismissed the action, saying it does little to protect LGBT state employees and nothing to protect those in the private sector. Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, accuses McCrory of “trying to save his reputation with this desperate move.”
Both legislative chambers reconvene on April 25. (LOS ANGELES TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO)
