North Carolina And Its Gay Battle

North Carolina And Its Gay Battle

As previously reported, North Carolina and Georgia were on the cusp of limiting rights for some of the LGBT community.  The governor of Georgia vetoed their bill, while the so called “bathroom bill” was signed into North Carolina law.  Original Article is HERE. North Carolina and its gay battle.

(In Short, the city of Charlotte enacted a law which enabled transgendered people to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with, not the gender of their birth.  Before that law could take effect, the state of NC enacted it’s own anti-discrimination law.  The state’s new law supercedes the laws of any individual city making Charlotte’s progressive law null and void.)

Georgia is not necessarily more progressive than NC, but it’s governor was probably spooked by the possible economic impact.  And he could see the storm that was building to the north.

The economic impact for North Carolina remains to be seen, but the waves are building.  And fast.  Bank of America, which is headquartered in Charlotte, tweeted the following:

 

Bank of America has a lot of influence in Charlotte.  It is the largest corporation in North Carolina, and according to Time Magazine, was a large contributor to Governor McCrory’s 2012 Campaign.  (McCrory signed the bill into law) And it is one in a growing list of companies who are calling for the repeal of this bill.

Organizers of the massive High Point Furniture Expo have expressed concern.  They issued the following statement:

“As leaders and organizers of the High Point Market, we feel an obligation to inform the public and our government leaders in Raleigh of the significant economic damage that [the law] HB2 is having on the High Point Market and on the North Carolina economy,” the statement said.

The city of High Point is often called the furniture capital of the world.  Its Market brings $5 Billion dollars per year to the state.

TV and film production companies which are very active in Wilmington and Charlotte have let their distaste of the bill be known.  Lionsgate, 21st Century Fox, and the A+E Network have said they will reconsider any future projects until NC repeals this law.

These are only a few of a growing list of powerful companies and organizations who support the gay community.  PepsiCo, Google, Ralph Lauren, Hyatt, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are among the 120 major companies asking for the repeal of this law.

The gay dollar runs deep.  And these companies and organizations realize that their some of their most valued employees are a part of the LGBT community.

North Carolina And Its Gay Battle

 

 

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