A controversial North Carolina law against nondiscriminatory ordinances had some provisions expire on Tuesday, opening the chance for local governments to enact such rules. Members and advocates of the LGBTQ community are now planning to push for such protections from town and city governments.
The state’s General Assembly passed House Bill 142 into law in 2017, a piece of legislation that effectively repealed House Bill 2, a law that garnered national attention. HB2 required people in government facilities to use bathrooms determined by the gender on their birth certificates, which saw wide criticism for discriminating against transgender people. While that portion was removed in 2017, lawmakers kept one of the four original provisions in HB142: a moratorium on local governments passing new nondiscriminatory ordinances.
Allison Scott, the Director of Policy and Programs at Campaign for Southern Equality, says since the bathroom portion of HB2 got nationwide scrutiny, general perception might be the entire law was repealed. Instead, she says the remaining provisions in the replacement HB142 still directly enabled discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community, like the declining of business, employment or other resources. Scott, a transgender woman, says it did not take long for people to realize the replacement bill presented similar challenges.
“It was pretty instantaneous for a lot of us in the LGBTQ community,” she says, “especially the trans and non-binary community. When HB142 was announced, everyone in the community read it and realized it was just a repackage. For us, it was a slap in the face.”
The moratorium on local ordinances expired on Tuesday, however, opening again opportunities for towns and cities without such laws to create them. While no major North Carolina cities have immediately announced plans to do so, advocates for transgender people and others are aiming to engage lawmakers, both on the local and state level, to show support.
Scott says such changes could lead to LGBTQ residents not feeling like the state government is trying to “erase trans people,” like she says HB2 effectively sought to do. Nondiscriminatory ordinances passed in cities would define clearer rights for people in the transgender community but also prevent discrimination against other populations.
“It’ll help prevent discrimination in public accommodations, such as hotels, rideshares, the gig economy…a lot of different ways,” says Scott. “We could also see new and exciting things [like] town pass new ordinances based around categories such as people with pregnancies or even veteran status.”
To begin building participation and interest in such ordinances, advocacy groups like the Asheville-based Campaign for Southern Equality have begun holding events and launching resources to better inform communities. On Tuesday as the HB142 provision expired, Campaign for Southern Equality partnered with Equality North Carolina to hold a town hall for LGBTQ residents to discuss plans of action. Additionally, Scott says her group also is part of a new website called NC Is Ready to directly help anyone looking to engage local leaders in discussions about such protections.
“It’s a digital platform that will allow people to get in touch with their local lawmakers and towns across North Carolina,” describes Scott, “and give them templates on how to communicate and talk to these points. Helping to extend lawmakers specifics on HB142 sunsetting and what that enables them to do is a big thing the public can start doing immediately.”
While Scott acknowledges the other sections of HB142 remain, she says she believes Tuesday’s expiration creates a clear opportunity for her state’s residents to show support of the LGBTQ community.
“This is really exciting,” she says. “We think it’s going to be a great thing and it’s going to help build momentum leading to a culture of acceptance and equality for people in North Carolina.”
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