Where do we even begin?
Republicans in North Carolina are pushing a package of legislation that may be unrivaled in its arrogance and callousness; a series of measures that would place new restrictions on transgender bathroom use, prohibit cities from banning discrimination, and even prohibit cities from raising wages.
Several cities in North Carolina have passed their own measures to ban discrimination against LGBT individuals and the state legislature has responded by attempting to ban anti-discrimination ordinances. And that's not all. Not even close.
The draft legislation, dated March 19, would also prohibit cities and counties from raising the local minimum wage – sometimes called a "living wage" ordinance – or from passing any labor laws that are stricter than state law.
The legislation would also require single-sex bathrooms in schools and government agencies, with entry restricted to people identified as the appropriate gender on a birth certificate. That provision is in response to an ordinance passed by the city of Charlotte in February to make it legal for transgender people to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity.
Unlike other governors, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory (pictured above) fully supports these measures.
The governors of South Dakota and Tennessee opposed local attempts to codify anti-transgender discrimination because doing so would have opened the door for federal lawsuits and a loss of federal funding, but Governor McCrory doesn't appear to be concerned about either of those things.
To be clear, while much of their focus is on policing the bathroom use of transgender students and adults, the measures being considered by the legislature would also prohibit cities from passing additional protections for the entire spectrum of LGBTQ individuals and, believe it or not, even people with disabilities.
These measures were advanced to the floor of the North Carolina House this afternoon during a one-day special session. Yes, they called a special session to pass this shit.