To: The North Carolina State House and The North Carolina State Senate
North Carolina HB 2: hate and switch legislation
Common Cause North Carolina
Repeal North Carolina HB 2. This hate-and-switch legislation hurts workers, families, state and local economies, and puts LGBT individuals at risk.
Why is this important?
On March 23, the North Carolina General Assembly, with virtually no public input, passed House Bill 2. Although some have cryptically anointed it “the bathroom bill”, Reverend William Barber came closer to the truth in calling HB2 a hate bill.
A creepily crafted smokescreen, HB2 was constructed to gin up blind fear and stoke homophobia so that the deeper and darker aspects of the bill could be slipped into law. This is hate and switch legislation by another name.
Yes, HB 2 drastically restricts the ability of local governments to pass nondiscrimination measures that offer protections to the LGBT community. That’s horrific in its own right.
But HB 2 also restricts local leadership from requiring recipients of government contracts to adopt nondiscrimination policies that go beyond state policy. This is, in effect, mandated discrimination against ALL workers, regardless of gender identification.
HB 2 hammers the working class, locking in low-wage and low- power position by blocking cities from independently adopting higher minimum wages, raising employee benefits, or paying sick leave or vacation benefits above the mandated state levels. This is mandated suppression of workes’r rights and their ability to earn a living wage, regardless of gender identification.
With HB 2, North Carolina joins Mississippi in the ignominious honor of being one of only two states in the country that refuse to provide their residents with the option of filing a wrongful termination discrimination claim in state court. Again,this is applicable to all workers, regardless of gender identification.
Finally, HB 2 has made North Carolina the focus of increasing derision and negative attention, while crippling North Carolina’s local and state economies. The state has been rebuked by everyone from the entertainment industry (Springsteen, Lovato, Jonas) to businesses (Deutsche Bank, PayPal), and Great Britain went so far as to issue a travel advisory warning its LGBT citizens to avoid our state.
Repeal North Carolina HB 2. This hate-and-switch legislation hurts workers, families, state and local economies, and puts LGBT individuals at risk.
A creepily crafted smokescreen, HB2 was constructed to gin up blind fear and stoke homophobia so that the deeper and darker aspects of the bill could be slipped into law. This is hate and switch legislation by another name.
Yes, HB 2 drastically restricts the ability of local governments to pass nondiscrimination measures that offer protections to the LGBT community. That’s horrific in its own right.
But HB 2 also restricts local leadership from requiring recipients of government contracts to adopt nondiscrimination policies that go beyond state policy. This is, in effect, mandated discrimination against ALL workers, regardless of gender identification.
HB 2 hammers the working class, locking in low-wage and low- power position by blocking cities from independently adopting higher minimum wages, raising employee benefits, or paying sick leave or vacation benefits above the mandated state levels. This is mandated suppression of workes’r rights and their ability to earn a living wage, regardless of gender identification.
With HB 2, North Carolina joins Mississippi in the ignominious honor of being one of only two states in the country that refuse to provide their residents with the option of filing a wrongful termination discrimination claim in state court. Again,this is applicable to all workers, regardless of gender identification.
Finally, HB 2 has made North Carolina the focus of increasing derision and negative attention, while crippling North Carolina’s local and state economies. The state has been rebuked by everyone from the entertainment industry (Springsteen, Lovato, Jonas) to businesses (Deutsche Bank, PayPal), and Great Britain went so far as to issue a travel advisory warning its LGBT citizens to avoid our state.
Repeal North Carolina HB 2. This hate-and-switch legislation hurts workers, families, state and local economies, and puts LGBT individuals at risk.