A ‘Bathroom Bill?’
A few weeks ago, on March 23rd, North Carolina’s general assembly met and passed House Bill Two, commonly referred to as HB2 or the ‘Bathroom Bill,’ which North Carolina’s Governor Pat Crosby signed into law the very same day. The bill states that all cities and towns must comply with state rules concerning any and all issues of discrimination. While state law does protect its residents from discrimination based on colour, age, race, religion, and biological sex, there is nothing in the states legislation concerning the LGBTQ community. Moreover, the bill also states that everyone must use the bathroom that coordinates with the gender on their birth certificate, not with the gender they most identify with. This law is undeniably a step backwards in the LGBTQ rights’ movement.
- Why a ‘Bathroom Bill?’
Many see the ‘Bathroom Bill’ as conservatives’ reaction to the city ordinance that Charlotte, the state’s largest city, passed in February. This ordinance had laid out means to protect members of the LGBTQ community in places of “public accommodation.” This ordinance also stated that transgender men and women had the rights to use the bathroom of the gender they most identify with, not the gender that is on their birth certificate.
If we expand our scope beyond North Carolina, we can see that this bill is only one of 200 anti-LBGTQ laws that have been introduced since January 2016. Some argue that this discriminatory movement is a response to the 2015 Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage. Those who did not agree with the legalisation of same-sex marriage are now, unfortunately, trying to hinder LGBTQ progress in the United States.
This bill not only repeals Charlotte’s ordinance, but because it forces all cities and towns to follow the state’s rules (which leaves gay and transgender residents unprotected) it does not allow any further or additional city level anti-discrimination laws to be passed. This limits any future legislation that could continue to improve and protect LGBTQ rights in the state.
- ‘Bathroom Bill’ Backlash
This discriminatory bill, once signed into law, received almost instantaneous backlash. Along with popular protests and anti-HB2 demonstrations, Roy Cooper, North Carolina’s Attorney General calls HB2 “an embarrassment” that “will set North Carolina’s economy backwards” (Yahoo). For example, Paypal has officially cancelled its plans to open up a global marketing centre in the state. Paypal alone would have created over 400 jobs in North Carolina. In addition, Lionsgate, A&E, and 21st Century Fox have announced that they would stop all film and TV productions in the state. This new bill is hurting North Carolina’s current economy and could continue to affect it in the future. The NBA is also considering to move its 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte, NC, which would mean the state would lose out on huge potential tourism revenue. Moving beyond the economy, the state is also facing a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law and defaming HB2 as an invasion of privacy of transgender men and women.
- How to enforce the ‘Bathroom Bill?’
One of the more ridiculous aspects of this bill is its demand that North Carolina residents must use the bathroom that matches the gender identified on their birth certificates. This not only specifically attacks any transgender or gender-queer individual, it is also impossible to actually enforce. The online news publication, Mother Jones, cold called police stations around North Carolina asking how they would enforce this new law and the police had no real answers. They stated that they would not be “policing bathrooms” and that they lacked the “police power” to “[check] birth certificates” or “sit in public bathrooms all day long” (Yahoo). This law cannot be feasibly implemented and is simply an expression of the homophobic and ignorant members of the North Carolina’s general assembly.
- ‘The Boss’ says it best
Among the multiple tourism events that have so far been cancelled in North Carolina, Bruce Springsteen has cancelled his upcoming show in Greensboro, NC. Springsteen released a statement apologizing to all his North Carolina fans but said, “Some things are more important than a rock show, and this fight against prejudice and bigotry…is one of them.” Referring to the HB2 law directly, he also states that “it is an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing human rights of all our citizens” (CBS). The Boss is correct; this bill is an attempt to pull the USA backwards and hinder American citizens’ human rights. Americans must continue to fight this discrimination, especially as other states are now considering to follow suit and pass their own similar laws in the near future.
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Information obtained from: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bruce-springsteen-cancels-north-carolina-con…
https://nz.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/31237196/now-i-get-it-north-caroli…