They say that those who do not learn from their past are doomed to repeat it. Apparently, North Carolina didn’t get the memo.
In a move that many would have hoped to be an early, cruel April Fool’s Day prank, North Carolina passed a new bill into law recently. House Bill 2, the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, puts a number of controversial bans in place that affect a wide range of people. In addition to forcing transgender people to use facilities relative to their biological sex, it bans cities and towns from protecting LGBT residents and visitors. Worse still, it overturns ordinances guarding LGBT people, people with disabilities, and veterans from discrimination.
Needless to say, the response has been less than rosy.
From Barack Obama to Bernie Sanders, George Takei to Clay Aiken, nobody has supported this bill. And, honestly, who can blame them? When you take a good, long look at this bill and what it pertains to, you’ll see why so many are opposed to it.
It may ban discrimination based on race, gender, religion, or country of origin, but unfortunately, that’s half the problem. There’s nothing in place protecting those who are either veterans, or fall into the LGBT spectrum, and now nothing can be done to help them, either. If you’re going to enact civil protections, it’s not exactly substantial if you’re only protecting a select few and leaving the rest out.
This is especially bad because people now have the right to refuse LGBT people on religious grounds. Look, I may be a Christian myself, but even I feel that refusing people service because of their sexual orientation is horrible. It’s one thing for clergies to refuse marrying gay and lesbian people; the separation of church and state allows for that. But for people who run public services to do so on the same grounds are both immoral, and against what this country was originally founded on.
Takei, a well-known LGBT activist, said it best in the wake of Kim Davis being freed from prison last year: “In our society, we obey civil laws, not religious ones. To suggest otherwise is, simply put, entirely un-American.” What North Carolina passed has the potential to go against that notion.
And what about the veterans of this country? You know, the people who busted their tails off to keep this country the “Land of the Free?” The fact the North Carolina’s new bill allows for people to discriminate against veterans, be they LGBT or straight, is appalling. These are the people that have shown more courage in a lifetime than any other person, people who deserve the finest of respect. And North Carolina passes a bill that allows others to discriminate against them.
Come on.
There was a time in this country where the phrase “All Men Are Created Equal” meant something in this country. I’m not saying that the meaning is lost on all states in this country, many of them absolutely understand. That said, there are just as many narrow-minded individuals who don’t understand that there are no exceptions to the notion. This is especially true in a day and age where people of different sexual orientations are more prominent than ever.
I’m not going to encourage people to boycott North Carolina, like so many already have. If anything, I encourage you to speak out, show that we will not let this mindset define us as a country.
After all, something’s got to give.
