Two days after the governor of North Carolina signed into law legislation that would eliminate protections for LGBT people and ban transgender people from using their gender-identified restrooms, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has released a statement prohibiting any city-funded travel to the state.
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The city of Charlotte had passed an anti-discrimination ordinance that would have become effective April 1, essentially making it illegal for public accommodations, such as bathrooms, or businesses open to the public to discriminate against people for their gender identity, but the new state law supersedes that. The act also bans municipalities from enacting and enforcing their own non-discrimination laws for public places, including sexual orientation and gender identity.
He continues, “I believe strongly that we should be adding more protections to prevent discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the United States, not taking them away”.
A controversial bill that limits local governments in passing antidiscrimination laws affecting LGBT people has put the state of North Carolina in the crosshairs of both business and advocacy groups.
The hysteria being ginned up over the passage of the North Carolina law has little to do with the law and everything to do with putting massive pressure on leaders in the state to change or eliminate the statute. “This ordinance would have eliminated the basic expectations of privacy people have when using the rest room by allowing people to use the restroom of their choice”. Pat McCrory, who signed the legislation Wednesday.
American Airlines, which operates its second-largest hub in Charlotte; the biotech company Biogen, which manufactures pharmaceuticals in Research Triangle Park; and payments processor PayPal, which last week announced plans to hire 400 people in Charlotte, were among the corporations condemning the new law. “It is a matter of common sense, if you have children, you understand it, if you don’t have children, you understand it”, Howard said. The city of Charlotte had such a non-discrimination law on the books, in part ahead of hosting the 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend.
“Our future as Americans should be focused on inclusion and prosperity, and not discrimination and division”, Apple said in a statement.
Less than 24 hours after McCrory signed the new bill into law, Mayor Roberts said she’s hopeful this isn’t the end.
“The issues of discrimination and violence against transgender people in the context of bathrooms are so overwhelming, that to them it is a cutting-edge problem”, she said.
The North Carolina law prompted a flurry a corporate statements disagreeing with the bill, but did not suggest any other actions they might take in protest. Some said they’re on edge after the General Assembly’s historic vote.
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The NBA says legislation could impact the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte.
