NORTH CAROLINA: State House GOP Seeks To “Refine” Anti-Trans Hate Bill, Activists Leap To Denounce

From the Charlotte Observer:

New legislation drafted by leadership in the N.C. House of Representatives seeks to walk back portions of a controversial bill passed during a special session this spring restricting the rights of transgender individuals to use the bathroom of their gender identity. Among the draft bill’s biggest changes is the creation of an official document that would recognize a person’s gender reassignment. The new document, which is treated as the equivalent as a birth certificate in the draft legislation, is referred to as a certificate of sex reassignment.

The draft legislation is the result of months of conversations between leadership in the state legislature, including the Speaker’s office, and officials from the NBA, On Your Side Investigates has learned. Charlotte is set to host the 2017 NBA All Star Game, an event whose future has been uncertain since the passage of HB2 this spring. A person with knowledge of the league’s plans, who asked not to be identified to discuss details of the ongoing discussion surround the 2017 All Star Game’s future in Charlotte, said passage of the proposed legislation would be a big step in helping the league to make the decision to keep the game in Charlotte.

From the text of the draft bill:

“An individual who (i) was born in another state or territory of the United States that does not provide a mechanism for amending a current certificate of birth or issuing a new certificate of birth to change the sex of an individual following sex reassignment surgery and (ii) resides in this State at the time of the written application may request a certificate of sex reassignment from the State Registrar,” the legislation reads. “The State Registrar shall issue a certificate of sex reassignment upon a written application from an individual accompanied by a notarized statement from the physician who performed the sex reassignment surgery or from a physician licensed to practice medicine who has examined the individual and can certify that the person has undergone sex reassignment surgery.”

From the Human Rights Campaign:

“This is nothing more than ‘HB 2.0,’” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Anyone who cares about equality must reject this ridiculous proposal out of hand. This despicable bill would continue insidious policies targeting LGBTQ people for discrimination and do nothing to fix the mess HB2 created. It’s past time for North Carolina lawmakers to listen to the overwhelming chorus of voices from across North Carolina and around the country calling for full repeal of this hateful law.”

“Legislative leadership must stop digging their own hole ever deeper. North Carolina can’t afford it,” said Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro. “This leaked draft is the result of another backroom deal that does nothing to fix the problems of HB2. We need to repeal HB2 immediately. The legislature cannot cut and run.”

The new proposal doubling down on HB2 does not address in any way the anti-LGBTQ discrimination perpetuated by the law and would not restore the ability of cities to pass LGBTQ inclusive non-discrimination ordinances. Appallingly, this proposal would still offensively and dangerously require the overwhelming majority of transgender people to use restrooms that don’t correspond with their gender identity.

The discriminatory proposal being offered by lawmakers today does not change the harmful status quo for nearly every transgender person in North Carolina. In fact, it would only allow access for a minority of transgender people in two states – Tennessee and Idaho — who may be living in North Carolina. According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, only 24 percent of transgender adults have birth certificates that correspond to their gender identities. Many states, including North Carolina, require transgender people to have gender reassignment surgery to update their birth certificates. However, only 33 percent of transgender people actually have gender reassignment surgery. This is due to a variety of factors – including but not limited to cost, age, health and medical needs, and access to skilled providers.

From Equality North Carolina:



We are in the the last days of the legislative session, and have not heard a word from Republican leadership about repealing HB2 for months. Just a few minutes ago we got word that a backroom deal is being cooked up by Republican leaders in the House and Senate that still discriminates against transgender North Carolinians and does nothing to restore the common sense protections passed by the Charlotte City Council earlier this year. We need you to tell them “NO DEAL! ONLY FULL REPEAL!”

The NC General Assembly will end this year’s Short Session any day now, and yet they continue to ignore the thousands of North Carolinians who have rallied, called, emailed, or signed petitions or postcards, the hundreds of business leaders who have spoken out, the numerous celebrities and performers who have canceled shows, and the sporting events that have issued statements, all with a singular demand — full repeal of HB2.