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| Family Research Council president Tony Perkins |
I knew that the Family Research Council would gloat about North Carolina's new law, HB2, but even I am a bit put off by the organization's celebratory email. I am going to post FRC's entire statement coming from its president, Tony Perkins:
Yesterday, leaders in North Carolina achieved more in a day than many state leaders have been able to accomplish in years. In a single-day special session, legislators passed and the governor signed into law protections for the privacy of children and women using school and public bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms in the Tar Heel state. Governor Pat McCrory (R), Lt. Gov. Dan Forest (R), and House Speaker Tim Moore (R) are to be commended for a day's work well done!
A month ago, the Charlotte City Council revived and passed a previously failed effort to establish special rights for people who identify as transgender. The law added "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" (SOGI) to the list of protected classes like race, national origin, and sex to the city's nondiscrimination code. The change was billed as "tolerant" and "inclusive," but as we've seen time and again it effectively opened every public bathroom, every gym shower, and every school locker room in the city to anyone, regardless of their biological sex. Despite thousands of calls, emails, and testimony from Charlotte residents -- including the Benham brothers -- who have experienced first-hand the heightened hostility and discrimination against Christians who hold to a biblical view of marriage and sexuality, the Council voted to force all businesses and places of public accommodation in city limits to recognize every person's preferred "gender identity" or face heavy fines and penalties.
This is where the Left leads us when left unchecked by common sense: The privacy of women and children must be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness. This reckless abandon of common sense threatens the safety and freedoms of Americans from Seattle to Houston.
Thankfully, state leaders stood up and common sense prevailed yesterday in North Carolina, days before the Charlotte ordinance was set to take effect. Even before the Council voted, Gov. McCrory and Lt. Gov. Forest (who presides over the Senate) made it abundantly clear that they would act to protect North Carolinians. The new law, Gov. McCrory warned, would "create major public safety issues." "It is not only the citizens of Charlotte that will be impacted by changing basic restroom and locker room norms," he wrote, "but also citizens from across our state and nation who visit and work in Charlotte."
Lt. Gov. Forest was even more direct: "Girls' bathrooms are for girls, boys' bathrooms are for boys. The fact we are even debating this is a sad commentary on where we are as a society."
If you live in North Carolina, please take a moment to thank Gov. McCrory, Lt. Governor Forest, and Speaker Moore for their courage in the face of fierce opposition on social media, staged protests to disrupt debate, and Democratic drama as Democrats in the Senate walked-out. Because these men refused to be bullied and intimidated, North Carolina becomes the third state (after Tennessee and Arkansas) to protect its citizens in bathrooms and locker rooms.
And no matter where you live, take a moment to tell your elected officials that you support protecting the rights of the majority of Americans who continue to believe in biblical sexuality and natural marriage.
Other than the deliberate appeal to fear mongering and lies about the transgender community, can you tell me what ELSE is wrong with the Family Research Council's statement. Isn't it missing one very HUGE detail about North Carolina's new law?
How about the simple fact that HB2 does more than supposedly "protect public safety." The law eliminates any and all non-discrimination ordinances in the state which would protect all members of the lgbt community.
Jay Michelson of The Daily Beast puts it this way:
The state has undone not just local ordinances protecting transgender people, but all LGBT nondiscrimination provisions across the state. Literally overnight, people in Charlotte and across North Carolina can now be fired from their jobs for being gay, turned away at hotel chains for being gay, and even forced to show their genitals to a police officer if the cop thinks they might be transgender.
Dominic Holden of Buzzfeed said:
House Bill 2 mandates that state law supersedes all local ordinances concerning wages, employment, and public accommodations.
Holden also pointed out that until yesterday, nine other jurisdictions in NC had ordinances similar to Charlotte's
Lastly, this Human Rights Campaign graphic says it all:
We shouldn't fool ourselves as to why the Family Research Council conveniently omitted the full repercussions of HB2.
FRC knows what this awful law does in its entirety. The organization knows fully well that the law now leaves lgbts in North Carolina defenseless against discrimination. And I'm willing to wager that members of the organization are practically giddy over this fact.
But Perkins and the rest of FRC also know that there is no way they can defend what this law does. Attempting to address the elimination of rights would totally destroy the narrative of "public safety." So rather than try to put lipstick on this pig, so to speak, FRC has hidden the pig deep in the barn while it distracts everyone with the shiny distraction of "men lurking in ladies restrooms."
As discussion about HB2 continue, FRC's shady behavior should serve as a warning about the truth regarding these "bathroom bills." Let's not forget to remind everyone about this fact every chance we get.
