The Bathroom Bill
Imagine a world where you’re told where you’re allowed to use the bathroom. Imagine that something as simple as a pit stop to the restroom is regulated and politicized. This is exactly what is happening now, in Trump’s America in particularly in North Carolina.
The state of North Carolina passed its very own bathroom bill early in March of 2016, known as the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act. It officially called An Act to Provide for Single-sex Multiple Occupancy Bathroom and Changing Facilities in Schools and Public Agencies and to Create Statewide Consistency in Regulation of Employment and Public Accommodations, commonly known as House Bill 2 or HB2. This bill originally required that people are only allowed to use the restroom that is the sex stated on their birth certificate. This bill thus prevented any transgender person from using the restroom if their birth certificate doesn’t state the sex of whichever bathroom they are using.
This bill angered many people who wanted to banish this bill, including the NCAA and the NBA who withdrew events in North Carolina resultantly.
Many feel as though there are issues revolving around the enforcement of this bill.
However, North Carolina has come to compromise as a result of the controversy over this bill. They have removed and signed off the portion of the bill that requires that trans people must use the bathroom in accordance of the birth certificate.
According to NPR, with the compromise has the addition of a temporary halt on local legislation from creating anti-discriminatory laws for the public until 2020. Junior Lauren Banks said, “I don’t think this bill is right and I don’t think they should compromise. I think they should remove it completely.”
It’s said that this compromise came quickly in agreement when hosting of the NCAA basketball championships were threatened to be lost. According to CNN, many representatives felt as though their collages were rushing the vote and bill to satisfy the NCAA. However, the General Assembly approved this compromise bill. Junior Christina Abeltin said, “It’s kind of messed up that they only made this compromise because they were losing business.”
As a result of the compromise, The NCAA removed its ban on the championships being hosted in North Carolina. The NCAA commented that they feel as though North Carolina has “minimally achieved a situation where we believe N.C.A.A. championships may be conducted in a nondiscriminatory environment.” This restored the upset of many citizens and politicians of North Carolina, because of the economic aspects the NCAA brings to the state.
HB2 required that all publicly owned buildings had to follow the law. This included bathrooms on college campuses. Like at UNC. However, at the time, the college states that the bill was a violation of their own anti-discrimination policy and promised to never enforce the law on their students.
Many have frowned upon this and don’t see it as an adequate compromise because of the added prohibition of protection of LGBT. They are still unsatisfied with the state control of anti-discriminatory laws. Junior Lauren Banks stated, “How is it even a compromise if those members won’t be protected for years by law?”
Opposers feel betrayed by their democratic governor Roy Cooper, who ran on the basis that he would do all in his power to repeal a bill they considered inhumane. Opposers have been calling the compromise that they don’t see as fair, as a “dirty deal”.
All in all, the compromise somewhat addressed the issues opposers had with the treatment of LGBT members regarding their choice in use of bathroom. Although many feel as though this compromise is a dirty deal, it was a step forward in repealing and banishing discriminatory laws in North Carolina.