North Carolina’s House Bill 2 is hours-old, but it has already made huge waves nationally. The bill is just a whole lot of ignorance, forcing transgender people to use the bathrooms of the gender indicated on their birth certificate, rather than their gender expression. But the horribleness doesn’t end there: it also prevents LGBT people from protection from discrimination.
Cuz that would be awful. Transgender people using the bathrooms they feel most comfortable in and LGBT folks being protected from discrimination. We can’t let that happen, says North Carolina. We must legislate against it!
You get the point.
In response, New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, signed an effective-immediately executive order blocking all non-essential state-funded travel to North Carolina.
Today I signed an executive order banning all non-essential state travel to North Carolina: https://t.co/EYhGDup4Dy pic.twitter.com/mU6hr7QDMn
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 28, 2016
Governor Cuomo issued a statement explaining his actions:
“In New York, we believe that all people – regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation – deserve the same rights and protections under the law… From Stonewall to marriage equality, our state has been a beacon of hope and equality for the LGBT community, and we will not stand idly by as misguided legislation replicates the discrimination of the past. As long as there is a law in North Carolina that creates the grounds for discrimination against LGBT people, I am barring non-essential state travel to that state.”
Seattle’s mayor also signed a similar executive order. Hopefully more cities and states will follow suit, along with companies and organizations.
This makes me glad that some politicians still stand up for the right thing to do, instead of trying to laugh it off or brush it away. It is offensive to common sense and to basic human decency to try to legislate based on people’s genitals, and it makes a difference when a leader speaks out for vulnerable groups.
Hopefully the dollars North Carolina stands to lose with speak louder than their bigoted opinions about the LGBT community, and they will repeal this law. If the belief in kindness and decency toward all people won’t change their minds, maybe money will.
Featured image is by Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York, available under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.
