I said earlier, I wanted to run a Diary of the ongoing cost to North Carolina of HB-2. So here it is.
Shows/Entertainers Cancelled in North Carolina
Bruce Springsteen, April 10, Greensboro
Pearl Jam, April 20, Raleigh
Cirque du Soleil, July 6-10, Charlotte AND June 22-26, Raleigh
Ringo Starr, June 18, Cary
Boston, May 4-6, Greensboro, Charlotte, and Raleigh
Blue Man Group, June 17-19, Charlotte
Lionsgate Productions — Moved production of new show, “Crushed” from Charlotte to Canada
Composer Stephen Schwartz has said he will no longer allow ANY of his productions, including the musicals “Wicked” and “Godspell” to be performed BY ANYONE….anywhere in North Carolina
Ani DiFranco cancelled her July 4 appearance at the Festival For The Eno in Durham
Author Sherman Alexie has cancelled ALL appearances in North Carolina
Famed director Rob Reiner said he won't produce movies in North Carolina until it repeals HB-2.
A&E Studios has promised not to consider North Carolina for any future productions. They are currently finishing shooting on an ongoing production in Wilmington.
Entertainers Who Have Performed, But Donated Proceeds or Taken Similar Action:
Cyndi Lauper — Proceeds from her June 4 show in Raleigh will benefit EqualityNC
Mumford and Sons — Proceeds from their April 14 show in Charlotte were sent to an unnamed local GLBTQ charity.
Duran Duran played in Charlotte, but hosted EqualityNC members who passed out petitions to repeal HB2 at the event. The band themselves signed the petition on stage.
Tacocat went ahead with their show in Durham but passed out TransLifeline buttons at the event and donated part of the proceeds to EqualityNC
Children’s book authors John Green, Maureen Johnson, Veronica Roth, Rick Riordan, Sarah Dessen and Jeff Kinney signed onto a letter in the School Library Journal stating they will have to consider whether they will attend festivals or conferences in North Carolina, but will continue to visit schools and libraries in North Carolina.
Jimmy Buffet will go ahead with his shows upcoming in Raleigh and Charlotte, but said any future appearances depend on HB-2 being repealed.
Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! is turning her May 15 event in Durham into a full-on protest over HB-2...she feels this will be a stronger statement than cancelling the event.
Brandi Carlile will be donating proceeds of ALL of her upcoming North Carolina shows to the ACLU Foundation of North Carolina
Conventions/Commercial Events cancelled in North Carolina
The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority reports 29 groups have expressed concerns about hosting their events in Charlotte, and 13 organizations HAVE cancelled already.
Five other organizations, including the folks behind Record Store Day called off events in Raleigh, according to the News And Observer (Raleigh’s local newspaper) The total loss so far to Raleigh/Wake County is $732,000 according to the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. Another 16 groups that were considering signing contracts are considering cancelling or changing their minds, with a potential cost of $24 million to the area. One of the events was “an unspecified sports tournament” that Denny Edwards, president and chief executive of the Visitors Bureau refused to identify, but said could cost the area a $4.5 million boost to the local economy.
According to the Centers for American Progress, HB-2 could potentially cost the state $568 million in economic activity through 2018, and has already cost North Carolina $68 million.
The NBA has put moving the 2017 All-Star game out of Charlotte very much on the table. Commissioner Adam Silver hopes to be able to keep the event in Charlotte, but has said that it will not be if HB-2 is not repealed. (Related to this, Atlanta has made a concerted effort to get the game moved to Atlanta.) Additionally, the NCAA has made similar statements about future March Madness games in North Carolina.
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the U.S. Golf Association which conducts the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women’s Open...has also made statements to this effect.
Some 550 people affiliated with B Corporations — mostly company CEOs — were supposed to gather in North Carolina in October for a series of conferences. The passing of HB2, however, has forced the group to change its meeting place.
B Corporations are for-profit companies that have been certified to meet certain standards of social and environmental responsibility. There’s some 1,700 of them in the world, and they include Etsy, Patagonia, and Ben and Jerry’s.
Businesses Cancelling or Considering Cancelling Planned Expansions into North Carolina
On April 5, PayPal announced they were cancelling a planned expansion into Charlotte. This cost 400 jobs with an estimated annual payroll of $20.7 million...and the construction of the $3.5 million complex where these 400 workers would have been employed.
New Jersey based Braeburn Pharmaceuticals announced they are re-evaluating plans to build a $20 million manufacturing and research facility in Durham. This facility would have created 50 new jobs, at an average annual salary of $76,000 — Total payroll cost: $3.8 million.
Deutsche Bank withdrew plans to expand it’s facility in Cary, which already employs 900 people. The planned expansion would have cost $9 million,and added 250 jobs to Cary, at an annual payroll estimated to be upwards of $21 million.
Total cost of just these three:
Construction/expansion costs: $32.5 million
Payroll costs: $45.5 million
Total jobs lost: 700
Total cost: $78 million, and 700 jobs
Other Actions Taken By Corporations in Response To HB-2
160 corporations including Red Hat, Bank of America, PNC, Wells Fargo, LabCorp, American Airlines, Time Warner Cable, Campbell Soup, and United Airlines have signed on to a letter in protest of the law.
A coalition of 32 independent North Carolina bookstore owners have called for the repeal of the law.
Also calling for repeal is a group called “Scholars for North Carolina’s Future,” comprised of 500 faculty members, staff, and graduate students from public and private universities across North Carolina.
Through its public policy Twitter account, Dow Chemical opposed HB 2 both before and after its passage. They have a facility in Charlotte.
IBM, North Carolina’s largest employer, has posted a strongly worded statement expressing disappointment with HB-2.
Other Government Agencies Actions Regarding HB-2
Through an executive order, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski banned the use of city money to travel to both North Carolina and Mississippi as a protest against the new laws
The mayor and the local city council also issued an open letter inviting businesses that feel uncomfortable working in states with anti-LGTBQ legislation to move to Utah instead. (THEY ARE TRYING TO POACH OUR BUSINESSES!!) AND THIS IS UTAH, GANG!!
For its part, the Cincinnati City Council voted to ban all “non-essential” travel to North Carolina and Mississippi using municipal funds.
In a statement on Facebook, City Councilmember Chris Seelbach said the council would work to bring the “good paying jobs leaving these states because of these egregious laws to Cincinnati.” (THEY ARE TRYING TO POACH OUR BUSINESSES!!)
The mayors of Seattle and San Francisco, who have banned anything but essential travel to North Carolina on the public's dime.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order on March 28, banning all non-essential state travel to North Carolina.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on March 31, also signed an executive order banning state-funded travel to North Carolina.
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has joined government officials from other states in banning nearly all official travel to North Carolina.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in banning non-essential state travel by state workers because of HB-2. In making the announcement, Inslee praised Washington's law that requires buildings open to the public to allow transgender people to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with the way they identify.
The Fourth Circuit Court recently ruled in GG vs. Gloucester that Title IX provisions against sex discrimination DOES INCLUDE gender identity. This Circuit Court also covers North Carolina...placing $4.5 billion in Federal education funding to North Carolina at risk.
Additionally, four other Federal agencies are looking at cutting funding to North Carolina.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have spoken against HB-2, as has President Obama. Additionally, SC Governor Nikki Haley has said such laws are not necessary, and she was joined in such statements by none other than The Donald. Now, when DONALD TRUMP says this…
UK's Foreign Office has issued a travel warning saying that while the U.S. "is an extremely diverse society," attitudes toward LGBT people "differ hugely across the country" and that "LGBT travelers may be affected by legislation passed recently in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi."
North Carolina Government Agencies Actions Regarding HB-2
North Carolina Attorney General (and Democratic Nominee for Governor) Roy Cooper said he refuses to defend the controversial law, calling it discriminatory.
The North Carolina cities of Asheville, Carrboro, Raleigh, Durham, Wilmington, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Hillsborough and Nags Head have passed resolutions condemning HB2.
NC State Representative Darren Jackson posted on Twitter: The Bible says love thy neighbor, but for Creech [director of the Christian Action League of NC] that means "but only if he is male, Christian, straight, young, etc. Otherwise work to make sure they are treated as second class citizens and anything but equal."
This is just what I know about and can confirm through other sources at the moment. Please add more in the Comments section if you know of any. I will include them in Updates to this Diary.
Please help me add to this list, I plan on having it handy when I go to talk with my North Carolina State Officials, when the session opens on Monday. As I mentioned elsewhere, I have already spoken with Rep. Chris Malone (NC-35) my own Rep. I have not yet met with Senator Chad Barefoot, who is my NC Senator. I doubt anything will move Barefoot, anyway. Chris Malone, I hold out a faint glimmer of hope for. He will not vote to repeal because it is the right thing to do...if he does vote to repeal, it will be to stop the economic loss.
I plan on meeting with many legislators who will likely not have their own constituents visit in person, because of distance.
Meanwhile, I am begging everyone in America...fair-minded citizens, businesses, entertainers — PLEASE DON’T FORGET US IN NORTH CAROLINA!! We have a long fight. The media glimmer will wear off. When it does, PLEASE DO NOT FORGET US. We are counting on you.
My sincere and heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone on this list...and my apologies for those who have also supported us that are not yet on this list. I only included those I could confirm through independent news media sources, and not ones that come from groups like EqualityNC. My reasons for this is that I do not wish to appear biased, I wish to present a factual and verifiable accounting.
So if you DO add to the list, please reference some official published statement, either from the entertainer or company that you cite.
Saturday, Apr 23, 2016 · 4:54:25 PM +00:00
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Kalisiin
First Update: I just caught wind that Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores...headquartered in North Carolina...has been getting calls from shoppers refusing to do business with Lowe’s as a result of HB-2.
I might add I am myself a business owner (and transgender) in North Carolina...and all of my clients are from outside of North Carolina. All have expressed support for me.
However, they all know about my trans status. It is not something I advertise when seeking new clients. If I should recruit new clients who refuse to business with me because I am a North Carolina corporation, I will definitely report on this.