North Carolina Republicans were so concerned about preserving bigotry in bathrooms that they held a one day special legislative session to prevent the city of Charlotte from enacting legislation banning discrimination against LBGTs. Passing America’s most bigoted bathroom bill was not enough for the NC (Neo-Confederate) Republicans so they tacked on a shit wages bill to prevent cities and developed areas of North Carolina from passing living wage bills. The legislature stripped the power of progressive communities to have local control of minimum wages and LBGT equality. For Republicans this has been a day for Confederate Jesus and the glory days of 3 hole outhouses.
All the Democrats in the NC Senate walked out in disgust so the Republicans passed the bathroom bill 32 to 0.
"This bill essentially ties a noose around the necks of the cities and counties, and it smothers their ability to govern in a way that their citizens think they ought to," Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue said as other Democrats left. "We're not participating in this effort that you make to roll back the clock in this state, to take away powers from local governments."
The Senate then passed this shit legislation. NC’s governor McCrory, who is as popular as a snake in an outhouse, said he would sign it. The Human Rights Campaign tried to talk sense into governor McCrory but they would have spent their time better trying to teach a pig to sing.
Today, in rapid succession, the North Carolina State House and the State Senate voted to force an unprecedented bill through the legislature that: would eliminate existing municipal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people; would prevent such provisions from being passed by cities in the future; and would force transgender students to use restrooms and other facilities inconsistent with their gender identity, putting billions of dollars in federal funding under Title IX at risk. The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s LGBT civil rights organization, and Equality North Carolina decried the reckless efforts of the North Carolina legislature to rush this anti-LGBT discrimination into state law. The bill passed the Senate 32-0 after Senate Democrats walked out of the chamber in protest and now heads to the desk of Gov. Pat McCrory.
“When transgender North Carolinians report experiencing shocking rates of discrimination in their everyday lives, it should be an easy decision for Gov. McCrory to reject and veto this bill -- or any piece of legislation that enables discrimination,” said JoDee Winterhof, Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs. “The only thing worse than disrespecting the carefully considered non-discrimination ordinance passed by the Charlotte City Council earlier this year is that the legislature has chosen to vent its frustration by punishing innocent transgender children who are simply trying to get an education. This behavior shows that the North Carolina Legislature has learned nothing from the experience of other states who became examples of how this extreme anti-LGBT legislation can backfire.”
“Today’s vote at the NCGA represents politics at its worst. Senator Berger and Speaker Moore should be ashamed of misleading their members to vote for the worst anti-LGBT legislation in the nation, which is sweeping beyond comprehension,” said Chris Sgro, Executive Director of Equality NC. “Protections for LGBT people against discrimination are common sense. This special session, where Berger and Moore rammed through hastily-crafted legislation was a farce of public policy. It is incumbent upon Governor McCrory to veto this bill immediately. Companies like Dow Chemical, Red Hat, and Biogen as well as the League of Municipalities, are saying this is the wrong thing to do. Governor - please do your job and protect us from this terrible overreach.”
The debate today is happening in a state where discrimination is a persistent problem in the LGBT community. North Carolina is one of 32 states that lacks a fully inclusive statewide non-discrimination law that includes sexual orientation and gender identity. The National Center for Transgender Equality and the National LGBTQ Task Force reported that in a survey of transgender people living in North Carolina, half of respondents had been harassed or discriminated against in public places like hotels, restrooms, restaurants and other public services. The nearly 30,000 transgender students in North Carolina shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of a discriminatory law that will lead to even higher rates of harassment, bullying, and even suicide. A new academic study recently found a direct correlation between high rates of suicide in the transgender community and lack of equal access to public spaces.