Discrimination law actually OKs it in some cases
Published March 25, 2016
Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, March 24, 2016.
This was never about who gets to use which public bathroom in Charlotte. We wish it were that simple.
The sweeping state anti-discrimination law that was passed by the General Assembly in a one-day session Wednesday and immediately signed by the governor is about much more than bathrooms. It is in fact a license to discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity. We doubt that lawmakers were unaware of that - especially when all of the Senate's Democrats walked out before the vote on the measure.
The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act was written in secrecy and only unveiled when lawmakers opened their special session. It establishes a statewide anti-discrimination policy that makes no mention of sexuality or gender and specifically forbids cities or counties from enacting protections more stringent than the state's code.
It's yet another move by the General Assembly to take away local self-governance - this from the majority party whose core principles include the belief that the best government is the one that's closest to the people.
The stated reason for the legislation was a controversial anti-discrimination ordinance passed by the Charlotte City Council. One provision of the law said that transgendered people could use the public restroom that was appropriate for their gender identity. This sparked outrage in Charlotte and from Gov. Pat McCrory, who was a long-serving Charlotte mayor. Legislative leaders vowed quickly to strike the ordinance down.
They did that on Wednesday, but the new state law is far broader, and will essentially repeal any municipal codes that bar discrimination against gay, lesbian or transgendered people.
Even before the ink had dried on McCrory's signature, the backlash began - and we're not just talking about harsh reaction from the usual suspects like civil rights and gay rights groups. An equally strong condemnation came from some of this state's biggest corporate players. American Airlines, Bank of America, Dow Chemical, Biogen, Red Hat and others spoke out against the legislation. So did PayPal, which just opened a new operations center in Charlotte, with plans to hire 400 employees. And the NCAA said it was reviewing its plans for future tournaments here if state law is inconsistent with its own anti-discrimination policies.
We expect a continuing cascade of unintended consequences from this ham-fisted legislative overreach. It may not be quite what lawmakers hoped for in this election year. But it's what they deserve.
March 25, 2016 at 9:27 am
Richard L Bunce says:
State Chartered Municipal Corporations are the creation of the State Legislature and are endowed with a very limited set of powers in State Statute and their specific charters. For far too long the State Legislature has ignored their responsibility in reigning in their municipal creations abuses of powers they were given and assumptions of power they were never given. It is good to see the Legislature take these small steps but much more is to be done and certainly on far more important issues.
Whatever the policy should be on this issue, it should be Statewide, not County by County, Municipality by municipality... and if it was a policy the Editorial Board of your paper did not agree with, they would agree with my statement.
