South Carolina's "bathroom bill" is dead at least for now. |
The lgbt community of South Carolina and its allies just scored a HUGE victory. A bill which would have forced transgender men and women to use bathrooms and restrooms in accordance to the gender on their birth certificates failed to even get out of committee:
According to the GreenvilleOnline News:
Three GOP senators on the Senate General Committee say they oppose the transgender bathroom bill and a fourth said he is torn, a number which likely means the bill is dead for the year.
Sen. Greg Gregory of Lancaster, Sen. Ray Cleary of Murrell’s Inlet and Sen. Paul Campbell of Goose Creek told The Greenville News Tuesday they are opposed to the bill.
Sen. Lee Bright, the bill’s sponsor, said he needs nine of the 10 GOP members of the 17-member committee to approve it in order for it to advance to the floor. Democrats oppose the bill. If three GOP members oppose it and a fourth is on the fence, the bill cannot come out of committee.
“I don’t think the bill is going anywhere,” Sen. Joel Lourie, a Columbia Democrat and one of the bill’s main opponents, told The News. “I can tell you it’s dead.”
Ever since Bright proposed the bill, which mimics several which have been and are now being discussed across the nation, its passage didn't look to be a sure thing. People on both sides of the political spectrum voiced opposition to it. Gov. Nikki Haley said that the bill was not needed. Some people were wary of passing the bill because of the severe backlash which North Carolina is now facing over a similar bill it passed, which not only targeted the transgender community, but also prohibited NC cities and towns from passing pro-lgbt non-discrimination ordinances.