Companies are taking a stand against North Carolina’s new anti-LGBT law, which Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed on Wednesday. House Bill 2, approved by the state’s General Assembly in a special session, prevents cities from passing anti-discrimination ordinances protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people. The law came in response to an anti-discrimination ordinance recently passed in Charlotte, which allowed transgender people to use the bathroom designated for the gender with which they identify. Conservatives, including McCrory, vowed to take down the so-called bathroom bill, arguing the law would give predators license to enter women’s bathrooms. (As HuffPost’s Amanda Terkel reports, this rhetoric has doomed many equal rights initiatives.)
When it comes to discrimination, it seems the more things change, the more they remain the same. There have always been those among us who hate other human beings on the basis of skin color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, etc., ad nauseum, ad infinitum. The Civil Rights struggle of the ’60s can seem so very far away when members of the White Christian majority decide it’s time to prove once and for all that they’re better than those not like them.
Welcome to North Carolina in the 21st century, where the desire and need to hold oneself above other, “lesser” human beings is as strong as it ever was. In this case, good, God-fearing, Conservative White Christians have decided that they’ve been called by the Almighty to protect the sanctity of public restrooms from the Evil Transgenders. It’s all about protecting our children from predators, don’tchaknow?? If we allow Evil Transgenders to use bathrooms corresponding to the gender they identify with, it’s virtually inevitable that they’ll be sexually molesting our precious snowflakes in them…amiright???
This explains- but certainly doesn’t justify- HB2. Having evidently solved all other problems facing the Tar Heel State, Republicans in the state legislature have turned their attention to ensuring that the only people protected from discrimination are Conservative White Christians. After all, since God decreed the world to be the province and property of the White majority, the law should reflect that…or so the thinking goes. They’ve already curtailed voting rights in ways that make it far more difficult for minorities to exercise their franchise, so protecting the sanctities of public restrooms probably seems like the next logical step.
The result is a law that’s drawn condemnation and protest from coast to coast. North Carolina, as evidenced by the good, God-fearing Christians in the legislature, is now seen as a state that hates…and few business wish to be associated with an environment awash in hatred, bigotry, and discrimination.
Cue the blowback in 4…3…2….
The resulting legislation is a wide-ranging measure that blocks local governments from passing laws protecting LGBT people, requires schools to designate single-sex bathrooms based on “biological sex” and preempts city policies involving wages, benefits and other workplace regulations. Corporate leaders in the state have been swift to condemn the law, echoing the backlash that helped take down Indiana’s “religious freedom” law last year.
As happened with Indiana’s “Religious Freedom Act” last year, the response has been loud and furious, led by businesses who aren’t thrilled about being associated with a state steeped in hatred and bigotry. Turns out discrimination and exclusion is bad for business, and some of the bigger companies who do business in North Carolina have made their feelings clear.
North Carolina will need to decide whether they’re willing to face boycotts, loss of business, and the cancellation of events and conventions in order to stand up for their “principles.”
We have zero tolerance for discrimination. We say NO to #NCGA. We continue to support all of our employees & remain on the side of equality.
— Bayer US (@BayerUS) March 24, 2016
Inclusion is one of our core values and we are proud to champion LGBTQ equality in N. Carolina and around the world: https://t.co/40yYLCrqO1
— PayPal (@PayPal) March 24, 2016
It’s too early to know what the impact the passing of HB2 will have on North Carolina’s business environment, but several of the state’s largest employers have already strongly condemned the new law. Most businesses understand that inclusiveness isn’t just a good idea; it’s a good business practice: Money is money, regardless of whose wallet it emerges from. They understand that hatred and exclusion hurt productivity and creates bad press, so it’s in their best interest to stand with the LGBT community and advocate for acceptance and tolerance.
The calls for boycotts are already being heard. The NBA’s 2017 All-Star Game is scheduled to be played in Charlotte, and the league has made its opposition to HB2 clear. It would be difficult to imagine Charlotte being allowed to host the All-Star Game under the current circumstances. Likewise, the NCAA always holds at least a few games in the Division I basketball tournament in North Carolina. Both the NBA All-Star Game and March Madness represent significant revenue-generating opportunities for North Carolina businesses…and there will be considerable pressure on both to relocate festivities if the current climate remains unchanged.
North Carolina can continue to be known as The State That Hates if it so chooses…but there will be a considerable cost for doing so. Businesses will likely reconsider locating in the Tar Heel State, and conventions and other events will very likely go elsewhere. Jobs and revenue will be lost, which will mean a lower tax base and less money to fund governments statewide. The legislature will no doubt discover that it’s difficult to create jobs and foster economic opportunity in a state so thoroughly committed to bigotry and exclusion.
Stay tuned; this will become interesting once North Carolina businesses begin to see that opportunities are going elsewhere. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence finally saw the light and backed down; the question now is whether North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory will eventually do the same.
