NORTH CAROLINA: Human Rights Campaign Petitions FAA To Cut Airport Funding Over Anti-LGBT Law

The Charlotte Observer reports:

The Human Rights Campaign is asking the Federal Aviation Administration to consider whether House Bill 2 is causing North Carolina airports to violate grant requirements.

If the FAA joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s position that HB2 violates the Civil Rights Act, the move could jeopardize millions of dollars in federal funding that helps operate and expand the state’s public airports.

“If these airports comply with the discriminatory mandate of HB 2, they will be in direct violation of federal law and therefore these grant requirements,” Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin wrote to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta this month. “We urge you to take steps immediately to hold these public airports accountable and to ensure that state sanctioned – and funded – discrimination does not continue on your watch.”

HB2 requires people visiting government buildings and facilities, including airports, to use the bathroom that corresponds to the gender on their birth certificate. The Department of Justice argues that the rule constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex.

(Tipped by JMG reader Jay)