The law bans people from using bathrooms that don’t match the sex indicated on their birth certificates, which opponents argue is discriminatory toward the transgender community. Gov. Pat McCrory was on hand to celebrate days earlier when PayPal announced plans to hire about 400 people at a new operation center in Charlotte. Schulman said the passage of House Bill 2 goes against the values of his company, and they just couldn’t proceed as planned.
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“This decision reflects PayPal’s deepest values and our strong belief that every person has the right to be treated equally, and with dignity and respect”, Schulman wrote, explaining the decision. The letter included a who’s who of tech executives: Apple CEO Tim Cook, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, PayPal founder Max Levchin, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and many others.
The NBA also joined in, threatening to move the 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte if the bill passed.
But PayPal’s decision isn’t likely to lead to a wave of businesses fleeing the state, said Ryan McDevitt, a Duke University professor who studies how companies compete.
Some mental health professionals said they would maintain an inclusive practice regardless of whether the bill becomes law.
Graham also praised Dan Forest, lieutenant governor of North Carolina, for defending the law by saying that “we need more politicians across the country with this kind of backbone”.
But the governor may have to take a more pointed stand soon as additional companies consider pulling out from the state. The market is responsible for about $5 billion in economic activity each year, organizers estimate. They don’t understand what it’s like to have their lives be put at risk by the government for something they can’t help, such as their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The South Carolina bill was sent to the committee chaired by Sen.
Other companies reconsidering their business in North Carolina include Lionsgate, which is filming the musical “Dirty Dancing” in the state but said in a recent statement that it would be “hard pressed to continue our relationship with North Carolina if this regressive law remains on the books”. “And Attorney General Cooper won’t try to stop them from stripping the basic expectation of privacy and safety North Carolinians have when they or their children use the restroom”, said a McCrory campaign email signed by campaign manager Russell Peck while asking for $25.
Benioff is calling on people to contact their own CEOs to make public statements against the law.
Supporters of the new state law say that PayPal should not insert itself into state legislation debates. Critics said the city’s ordinance would have allowed men posing as transgender women to enter women’s restrooms or showers.
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A group that supported the legislation said PayPal pulled out after receiving millions in corporate incentives.
