After big business backlash, a million-dollar “deuces” from PayPal, a cancelled Bruce Springsteen concert and the launch of a protest beer called “Don’t Be Mean to People,” North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory finally revised House Bill 2.
Reminder: House Bill 2, infamously known as the “bathroom bill,” legally requires transgendered people to use the bathroom that corresponds to the gender on their birth certificate as opposed to the gender they identify with. It also revokes LGBTQ peoples’ right to sue based on discrimination.
*Cue shit storm of outraged complaints from celebrities, million dollar corporations and the LGBTQ community nationwide.*
Springsteen soon followed suit, posting an apology notice on his Facebook page that announced he was canceling his upcoming concert in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Springsteen explained the anti-LGBTQ bill as an “attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress.”
“Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them,” concluded Springsteen.
The rock legend’s sentiments were echoed by former Beatle Ringo Starr, Gregg Allman and Jimmy Buffet, who all released personal statements denouncing the bill:
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A real revision or just saving face?
McCrory is apparently a huge Springsteen fan, as he promptly signed an executive order to revise the legislation following the rocker’s cancelation and statement.
Whether the revisions are a genuine attempt to right a wrong or a legislative ploy to save face without detracting from the initial intent of the bill has been debated.
According to McCrory, the revisions “affirm and improve the state’s commitment to privacy and equality.” The governor expanded the state’s employment policy to cover sexual orientation and gender identity, granting the LGBTQ community the right to sue in state court for discrimination.
“After listening to people’s feedback for the past several weeks on this issue, I have come to the conclusion that there is a great deal of misinformation, misinterpretation, confusion, a lot of passion and frankly, selective outrage and hypocrisy, especially against the great state of North Carolina,” said McCrory in an announcement on Tuesday.
At the transgendered community’s expense, the governor left the controversial bathroom law as is – ultimately failing to fix the most discriminatory aspect of the bill. The governor defended the law as “common sense” and claimed that it “affirms the private sector’s right to establish its own restroom and locker room policies,” according to his press release.
Unfortunately, North Carolina’s lack of non-discrimination laws for the LGBTQ community is nothing new; just 20 states in the entire country have laws outlawing discrimination based on both sexual orientation and gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project:
Opponents of the bill claim the revisions were too little too late, with many criticizing McCrory’s recent efforts as surface-level.
“Gov. McCrory’s actions today are a poor effort to save face after his sweeping attacks on the LGBT community, and they fall far short of correcting the damage done when he signed the harmful House Bill 2 into law which stigmatizes and mandates discrimination against gay and transgender people,” said the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina as quoted by CNN.
“With this executive order, LGBT individuals still lack legal protections from discrimination, and transgender people are still explicitly targeted by being forced to use the wrong restroom.”
Our take
While McCrory’s revisions may appear to right some wrongs, the bill still stands as vehemently anti-LGBTQ due to its failure to treat LGBTQ people like human beings.
Navigating the complicated intersection of religion and LGBTQ equality is no easy task, but businesses and entertainers have made it clear that promoting freedom for some cannot come at the expense of the rights of others.
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