Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / April 14, 2016, edition 1 / Page 8
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City Council to vote on anti-HB 2 resolution BY TODD LUCK THE CHRONICLE The Winston-Salem City Council will be voting on a resolution in protest of HB2 in its Monday, April 18 meeting. The resolution, dis cussed in the last full coun cil meeting, went before the general government committee on Tuesday, April 12, just hours after Governor Pat McCrory signed an executive order "clarifying" HB 2. The controversial law Vas * passed in a one-day General Assembly session to prevent Charlotte from enacting a nondiscrimina tion ordinance for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgen der (LGBT) individuals that included allowing transgender individuals to use the restroom or locker room of the gender they identify with. To do that, the law restricts local gov ernments from going fur ther than state law in dis crimination protections and says individuals can only use public restrooms that match the gender on their birth certificate. "It's scapegoating a rel atively small and particu larly vulnerable minority, in this case transgender individuals, playing on fears that folks have, good folks have, of the unknown," said the resolu tion's author. City Council member Dan Besse, about HB 2. - The Committee voted unanimously to send the resolution to full council on Monday. The resolution voices concern about the law and asks local lawmak ers to undo its "damaging legislative changes." Neither City Council I P 1 I members nor the speakers at the meeting were impressed with McCrory's order which added sexual orientation and gender identity to discrimination policies for State employ ees and urged lawmakers to change part of the law that prevents employees from suing for discrimination. "So we add sexual ori entation and gender identi ty to the description, but we still do not have legal recourse," said Liam Hooper, a transgender man and board member of North Star LGBT Community1 Center, who spoke during the comment session. City Attorney Angela Carmon told the council the law had two main effects on City operations: employees lose their ability to sue for discrimination, and it creates a problem if there's a conflict between federal and state discrimi nation laws. She gave the example that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) interprets "sex" to include gender identity and sexual orientation, so fed eral law would say a trans gender employee should be able to use the restroom they identify with, while HB2 says otherwise. Cannon said that the law doesn't prevent the City from having its own standards for minority con tractor participation during contract bidding, but lan guage expressing coqpern about that was kept in'the resolution because Besse said that one legal expert they consulted said the issue was unclear. Rev. Laura Spangler of Lloyd Presbyterian Church was the sole speaker who found "wisdom and com mon sense" in HB 2. "I am the pastor of a civil rights church," said Spangler. "It is not discrim ination, it is not a civil rights issue, we are trying to change the way we are created." She said the law "ensured the protection of our children and youth." Opponents of the Charlotte ordinance raised concerns that it may put women or children in danger of sexu al assault. Proponents of the ordinance have rejected that as a scare tactic and point to the more than 200 cities around the country that have similar ordi nances. Other speakers did think it was a civil rights issue, like Christina Novaton, whose partner is transgender. "I think discrimination is more than race and gen der," she said. City Council Member D.D. Adams agreed it's a civil rights issue and plans to be in Raleigh for it when the General Assembly reconvenes on April 25. City Council Member Derwin Montgomery urged people to approach the issue with understanding and tolerance. "The tact of the matter is, for a long time in this country, people were not comfortable eating in the same restaurant with peo ple who didn't look like them," said Montgomery. "... today this is a much different community and a much different place." Robert Clark was the only City Council member who was sympathetic to the bill. He said he was con cerned Charlotte's ordi nance would've created discomfort in locker rooms. "A lot of people say it's bigger than the bathroom issue," said Clark. 'To me, it's not." . | Clark, however, said he also had concerns about the potential conflict between state and federal discrimi nation laws it may put local governments in. "So we add sexual orientation and gen der identity to the description, but we still do not have legal recourse." . -Liam Hooper, board member of North. Star LGBT Community Center ==^=^=? H^jH MSB I H gotplin?123.org^^^ ? |Hn JOin a national movement to make your plans Attend a FREE Advance Care Planning Workshop 4/16 2-3 pm Hospice & Palliative CareCenter Education and Counseling Center 101 Hospice Ln. Winston-Salem 4/16 3-4 pm Hospice & Palliative CareCenter Education and Counseling Center 101 Hospice Ln. Winston-Salem 4/21 1 pm . Kernersville Public Library (basement area) 130 E Mountain St. Kernersville Visit www.GotPlansl23.org for a complete schedule of additional workshops in April and ongoing. w ? "1 / y^H9v //m IwKii Pktl y^M|f|yVA W l)/1 rjfj >fl / / J ? / il / //il //I j^r /?r ? yy^7 < ?-,'/ /7M The WSSU Department of Athletics 'N - cordially nvites you to the'Second Annual y / f // cAiMeticS SeieB'iatmi cJ AAyceiiencs ' Br '' Monday, April 25, 2016 # 6:00 p.m. ^ K.R. Williams Auditorium 1/ WSSU students FREE with valid tD - $ 10 for General Admission t jr" Attire is semi-formal y . Hosted by WSSU Alumnae Softball Standouts: Heather Davis and Shannon Davis K 1^^^M A ''M M I I I 1 I I I IV 1 ^ W a V V M V I IV M 1 I I | 1 L ^ V M m. .A. ^ in kiini 8* y ?> * .
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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April 14, 2016, edition 1
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