President Barack Obama on Friday joined a chorus of critics calling for the repeal of controversial legislation seen as anti-LGBT, saying that laws that have been passed in MS and North Carolina “are wrong”.
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“Although I respect their different viewpoints, I think it’s very important for us not to send signals that somebody is treated differently”.
Obama also said that the move to pass the laws was motivated not exclusively by animus, but by political considerations and some lawmakers’ sincerely held convictions.
The laws limit the rights of LGBT people, allow discrimination based on “religious belief”, and even roll back protections for trans people wishing to use a gender-appropriate bathroom.
Obama’s remarks came one day afterK. issued a travel warning to its citizens about North Carolina and Mississippi.
“The U.S.is an extremely diverse society, and attitudes towards LGBT people differ hugely across the country”, it wrote as an advisory on its web site.
Obama said North Carolina is a lovely state, but he wants the state government to overturn House Bill 2.
Rock stars including Bruce Springsteen and former Beatle Ringo Starr have cancelled performances in North Carolina in protest at the law passed by the state, while Bryan Adams pulled out of a gig in Mississippi.
“We didn’t feel like HB2 represented us as businesses or as residents of North Carolina”, Erik Lars Myers, the CEO and head brewer of Mystery Brewing Co., told NPR.
Britain’s Foreign Office has warned gay and transsexual British tourists this week about travelling to the two states in America following the implementation of new laws that have been dubbed “terrible” and ‘anti-gay’.
Adding to the growing list of performers canceling shows in North Carolina due to House Bill 2, Blumenthal Performing Arts announced Friday that Blue Man Group has canceled their Charlotte dates.
Cameron also provided some clarification about the travel advisory, saying that the Foreign Office tries to give advice dispassionately and impartially. In the “bathroom law”, there is a specific provision that says that people should use the public toilet based on their biological sex they were born with, which suggests that they can not invoke the gender they now associate with.
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“The people of North Carolina and MS are great people, they really are”, said Obama.
