Joe.My.God. LGBT News
By a more than 3-1 margin, this afternoon the GOP-dominated North Carolina House voted in a special session to overturn all LGBT rights laws in the state, including the recently passed ordinance in Charlotte. Raleigh’s NBC affiliate reports:
A proposal that codifies a statewide nondiscrimination policy in employment and public accommodations and prohibits North Carolina cities or towns from enacting stricter guidelines cleared the House on Wednesday afternoon and was headed to the Senate.
The House voted 84-24 in favor of the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act less than five hours after it was introduced as state lawmakers rushed to push it through the General Assembly in a one-day special session. “This is historic,” said Rep. Dan Bishop, R-Mecklenburg, noting that North Carolina has never had a nondiscrimination statute.
The bill excludes gays and lesbians from discrimination protections, however, prompting an outcry from LGBT advocates, some corporations and Attorney General Roy Cooper, the Democratic candidate for governor. The legislation is in response to an ordinance passed last month by the Charlotte City Council that broadly defines how businesses treat LGBT customers. The ordinance includes a provision that allows transgender people to use public bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity.
“If God didn’t give you access to a male or female bathroom via your anatomy, neither should we give you access via either ordinance or legislation,” John Amanchukwu, executive director of Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh, told members of the House committee Wednesday.
Chloe Jefferson, a junior at Greenville Christian Academy, called the prospect of a boy in the girl’s bathroom or locker room at her school “completely frightening,” adding that dealing with body image is hard enough for teen girls without having boys around when they change clothes or go to the bathroom.
The vote in the House was largely along party lines. The bill now immediately goes to the state Senate where Republicans outnumber Democrats by a 2-1 margin. Their vote is expected later today.
VIDEO: Below is the pro-LGBT statement by Attorney General Roy Cooper.