But Monday, in advance of their show, the metal band condemned the state’s discriminatory 2016 “bathroom bill” that mandates transgender people use the bathroom corresponding with the gender they were assigned at birth.
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Under the law, members of the transgender community can’t use the bathroom of the gender that matches their identity.
According to Raleigh’s The News and Observer, McCrory this week quietly waved through HB805, a bill containing provisions that clarify language and minor issues with legislation passed earlier in the year.
“Let me start with a fundamental question, and that is: Why do we have separate bathrooms for men and women?”
Although they admitted to reservations about playing in North Carolina, the band ultimately made a decision to partner with LGBTQ advocacy group Equality NC to help repeal the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, which decides which toilet a transgender person can use.
North Carolinians will have to wait for a ruling on whether a federal judge will block a portion of the state’s controversial House Bill 2, which advocates continue to call the worst piece of anti-LGBT legislation in the nation.
During the hearing, Schroeder asked lawyer Butch Bowers, who is representing Gov.
“As I have said all along, the University is caught in the middle of an apparent conflict between state law (HB2) and federal guidance that the University did not create”, she said in a statement.
Schroeder noted in his questioning of the attorneys Monday that he had no transcripts or evidence that lawmakers had discussed the issue publicly before voting on the bill.
Bathrooms on the University of North Carolina’s 17 campuses are affected by the law. And a growing number of musicians have bowed out of major performances, citing the law as “discriminatory” and an “attempt by people who can not stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens”.
“I don’t think we can view this law as anything other than an attack on this community”, said Paul Smith, a lawyer who argued for the challengers. UNC President Margaret Spellings said she was eager for a resolution to the suit, which also named the university system as a defendant.
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“It forces all trans kids in our state to choose between breaking the law and using the correct restroom or using the wrong restroom, which could put them in a perilous situation”, he said. Due to its geographical position on the southeast coast of the United States, North Carolina is particularly prone to devastating hurricanes.
