My usual Saturday morning perusal of the Charlotte Observer’s
sports section (the only section of the Observer I read given the paper’s
long-standing political leanings) was full of stories about the NBA’s decision
to withdraw next year’s All-Star game from Charlotte in protest of the HB2 law which
prevents individuals from choosing which restroom or locker room to use based
on the gender with which they currently identify.
Luke Decock’s article was particularly annoying as he was encouraging
the Atlantic Coast Conference to follow the National Basketball Association's lead and punish North Carolina because of the HB2
law. Decock proudly declared, “it’s time for the ACC to follow the NBA’s
example and stop rewarding North Carolina politicians for shamefully discriminating against the LGBT community out of fear of
nonexistent transgender predators.”
Decock’s misleading and inflammatory statement offers an opportunity
to set the record straight:
The North Carolina Legislature does NOT discriminate against the LGBT
community. They are protecting our wives, sisters, daughters, and
granddaughters from real HETROSEXUAL predators by striking down a law that
would make it easier for these deviants to gain access to female restrooms and
locker rooms!
The only legitimate gripe the anti-HB2 crowd has is that the
law did not create another sub-group of citizens that may claim to be
aggrieved. North Carolina law already recognizes race, religion, color, national
origin, age, sex or handicap as protected classes. Because the law does not create
a new one, “sexual identification”, the claim is that the LGBT community is unprotected
and open to discrimination.
What do all the current protected classes have in common? Other
than religion, they are all tangible, physical, and easily identifiable! LGBT are
none of those. How can you enforce a discrimination law based on the gender the
plaintiff identified with on a given day? Can you imagine what new
protected classes might be derived after this? How about the LDCH
community? Llamas Dogs Cats and Horse community. Those who identify as a horse
or a dog on a given day should not be discriminated against nor prosecuted if they defecate
in public! Talk about a slippery (and stinky) slope.
What did HB2 do?
Given the irresponsible actions of the Charlotte City
Council, one that, like gay marriage, is trying to redefine natural law, the
North Carolina Legislature was forced to step in and clearly define rules
around “multiple occupancy bathroom or changing facilities”. The bill states:
“Single-Sex Multiple Occupancy Bathroom and Changing Facilities. – Local boards of education shall require every multiple occupancy bathroom or changing facility that is designated for student use to be designated for and used only by students based on their biological sex.”“Multiple occupancy bathroom or changing facility. – A facility designed or designated to be used by more than one person at a time where students may be in various states of undress in the presence of other persons. A multiple occupancy bathroom or changing facility may include, but is not limited to, a school restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room.”
The bill goes on to suggest that single occupancy bathrooms
and/or changing facilities can be used to accommodate the transgendered
community. Seems like a reasonable solution to a non-existent problem.
What’s the Big Deal?
For those of you not from Charlotte or North Carolina, you
must understand that the Charlotte City Council is comprised largely of
Democrats (nine of the eleven members). The mayor, Jennifer Roberts, is a
liberal ideologue in the same league as Warren, Clinton, and Pelosi. On top of
that, we have a successful Republican Governor (and former mayor of Charlotte),
Pat McCrory, who is up for reelection this year. And for the first time in over
a century the North Carolina General Assembly is majority ruled by Republicans.
On top of that, consider that the state is now considered “purple”
having narrowly giving Obama our 15 electoral votes in 2008 (by 14,000 votes) and rejecting
him in 2012 (by 97,000 votes).
As you might expect the Left in North Carolina is in uncharted
waters. What to do?
Step #1 - Have Charlotte pass an ordinance that they know
the General Assembly will strike down.
Step #2 – Ignore the obvious consequences of the ordinance.
Step #3 - Decry the General Assembly’s law as
discriminatory.
Step #4 - Call Republicans homophobes, hayseed, backward, narrow-minded, and short-sighted.
Step #5 - Engage the liberal media to carry the water for
the non-existent grievance.
Step #6 – Suggest to liberal celebrities, entertainers, and politically
correct sport leagues to cancel events in North Carolina.
Step #7 – Use the issue to elect Democrat Roy Cooper to the
governor’s mansion, unseat as many Republican members of the General Assembly,
and regain the 15 electoral votes for Hillary Clinton. Given the dismal Democratic turnout in the primaries and their highly flawed, unlikable, unindicted felon presidential candidate they need all the help they can get to rally the troops.
Governor McCrory summed this situation up best:
“The sports and entertainment elite, Attorney General Roy
Cooper and the liberal media have for months misrepresented our laws and
maligned the people of North Carolina simply because most people believe boys
and girls should be able to use school bathrooms, locker rooms and showers
without the opposite sex present. Twenty-one other states have joined North
Carolina to challenge the federal overreach by the Obama administration
mandating their bathroom policies in all businesses and schools instead of
allowing accommodations for unique circumstances. Left-wing special interest
groups have no moral authority to try and intimidate the large majority of
American parents who agree in common-sense bathroom and shower privacy for our
children. American families should be on notice that the selective corporate
elite are imposing their political will on communities in which they do
business, thus bypassing the democratic and legal process.”
