As a result, I have signed legislation passed by a bipartisan majority to stop this breach of basic privacy and etiquette which was to go into effect April 1.
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The Senate voted for the measure hours after the House had already passed it by a wide margin. In the shortened debate leading up to the final vote around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Minority Leader Dan Blue (D-Raleigh) was the only Democrat to speak as his colleagues filtered out of the chamber. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory refused to do so, reportedly on the basis lawmakers seek to pass a measure that would do more than undo the Charlotte ordinance.
The move seems to be in direct response to the LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance that was passed in Charlotte, which riled conservatives with the addition of a policy that would’ve allowed transgender people to use public bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity. Instead, transgender residents and visitors are required to use the bathroom that matches the sex on their birth certificate.
Local governments would be prohibited from passing anti-discrimination ordinances that extended the protections to include gender identity and sexual orientation.
On wages, the bill said, ” A county may not require a private contractor under this section to abide by regulations or controls on the 7 contractor’s employment practices or mandate or prohibit the provision of goods, services, or 8 accommodations to any member of the public as a condition of bidding on a contract or a 9 qualification-based selection, except as otherwise required by State law”. “We’re afraid that legislation created by the General Assembly would have the unintended outcome of possibly prohibiting that assistance”. Warren Daniel, a Republican from Morganton, who voted against the amendment.
LGBT advocates have argued that the bill’s restrictions on transgender children’s bathroom use in schools could threaten the almost $4.5 billion in federal Title IX funds that North Carolina receives each year. South Dakota’s legislature failed to override Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s veto and a similar bill in Tennessee bill died Tuesday.
In fact, there is bipartisan consensus that lawmakers should leave Charlotte’s ordinance alone.
Opponents of the measure claim that they fear the ordinance will allow men posing as women to gain access to women’s restrooms.
But Rep. Carla Cunningham (D-Charlotte) asked if lawmakers would just be making matters worse by overturning the protections provided by the ordinance. “I can not support the bill. What we’re doing is a perversion of the process”. The one-day session cost the taxpayer $42,000.
“Charlotte’s law is not unusual, unique or radical”, said Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality North Carolina.
North Carolina has been criticised by LGBT rights groups for moving hastily to try to end the protections.
The North Carolina General Assembly is busy today, wasting your money and engaging in legislative overreach that has, unfortunately, become all too common under the present leadership of the governing body.
“It’s bewildering but telling that Speaker Moore and Lt. Governor Forest are presenting this type of legislation, even in the face of clear opposition from the voters”, he added.
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While North Carolina legally permits discrimination against LGBT people, like most states, discrimination based on race and religion is commonly outlawed.
