At least 18 protesters opposing the law were arrested Monday evening when they entered the office of a top legislative leader to voice their opposition.
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Eighteen protesters were arrested after refusing to leave House Speaker Tim Moore’s office, AP reports, while 36 more arrests came as protesters refused to leave the building after it closed for the night. “They need to stand firm”.
The leader of a national advocacy group says transgender people used bathrooms aligned with their gender identity during protests in North Carolina’s Legislative Building and weren’t arrested for it, despite a law curtailing LGBT rights.
Dozens intent on disrupting lawmakers created a raucous atmosphere at the state legislative building following an afternoon rally that drew hundreds of the law’s opponents.
“The battle is about to be engaged”, said Rep. Paul Stam, R-Wake, a veteran of North Carolina’s cultural wars, addressing the crowd.
That brings to 54 the number of opponents of the law who were led away in plastic handcuffs or carried away on the General Assembly’s opening day of its annual work session. One was also charged with resisting arrest.
The protesters gathered on the steps of the N.C. Capitol building, taking turns listening to prominent speakers express their disgust for the bill. As the short House meeting ended, demonstrators in the gallery yelled their displeasure.
North Carolina legislators held brief floor sessions Monday night. “And we can all feel sympathy for folks who are having hard times, because we all know folks that have a hard time, whether folks are struggling with drugs, are struggling with their marriages, figuring out what it is that they’re supposed to be doing in life. It must stop now”, North Carolina NAACP President William Barber said as he led a protest of thousands against HB2 that descended upon the Legislative Building shortly before the session began at 7 p.m.
“HB2 compounds the discrimination and marginalization of the transgender community, who already have to fight every day for their survival”, Joaquin Carcano, a transgender man who’s suing over the law told the Associated Press.
“It’s absolutely insane when people say this is an anti-gay bill”, Bright added, “it has nothing to do with homosexuality and everything to do with privacy and safety”.
The N.C. NAACP labeled the event a “Mass Moral Sit-Ins to Repeal Hate Bill 2”, and pledged the protest would be nonviolent and safe for all participants.
“We must act immediately to repeal this harmful legislation right now, before the pushback nationally does real and long-term harm to our state”, said Rep. Darren Jackson, a Democrat and the bill’s primary sponsor, as reported by WNCN.
Business leaders, entertainers and politicians including Obama and Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump have come out against the law.
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A Republican from Mecklenburg County has some strong words for Charlotte’s mayor after she released a statement Tuesday morning calling for a full repeal of North Carolina’s House Bill 2.
