2 SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016 - THE CAROLINA TIMES
McCrory and allies waging a “war on facts ” to defend
HB2; False claims abound as governor and allies
attempt to defend the indefensible
RALEIGH - In their
attempt to ward off over
whelming criticism over
HB2, Gov. McCrory and
his allies have repeatedly
resorted to pushing false
claims and willful igno
rance about their misguid
ed and bigoted law.
First, the McCrory cam
paign sent out a wildly mis
leading “fact check” about
HB2 — which earned the
worst possible rating
from WRAL’s own fact-
checkers. Then, the gover
nor tried to claim that HB2
doesn’t take away “any
rights that have cuiTently
existed in any city in North
Carolina.” PolitiFact ruled
the claim “False.”
HB2 supporters have
also tried to claim that lo
cal nondiscrimination laws
such as the Charlotte or
dinance make it easier for
male sexual predators to
Mayor Roberts’ Radical Bathroom
Sharing Ordinance Costs Charlotte PayPal
Joint statement from House Speaker Tim Moore and
Senate Leader Phil Berger:
“When Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts teamed up with a con
victed child sexual predator to pass a radical bathroom policy al
lowing men to use girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms, the Governor
warned her the legislature would take immediate action to protect
North Carolina families. If Jennifer Roberts, Roy Cooper and the
far-left Political Correctness Mob she’s unleashed really care about
the economic future of her city, they’ll stop the misinformation cam
paign immediately and start telling the truth about this commonsense
bathroom safety law before more damage is done to the city she was
elected to lead and the state Cooper was elected to protect.”
Background:
As soon as she was elected last November, Charlotte Mayor Jen
nifer Roberts (pictured here at an event with the convicted child
sexual predator) teamed up with a group of far-left activists lead by
a convicted child sex predator to push as her top priority one of the
most radical far-left social agendas in America. The crown jewel of
their far-left agenda was an absurd, politically correct, overreach that
requires every business serving the public including YMCAs, restau
rants and public arenas to allow grown men to use the women’s and
girl’s bathrooms, locker rooms and changing rooms.
Governor McCrory repeatedly warned Mayor Roberts that the
legislature would repeal any effort to force private businesses to let
men into women’s locker rooms and bathrooms. Instead of listen
ing to Governor McCrory’s advice to allow businesses the choice
of keeping bathrooms designated for either men or women Mayor
Roberts doubled down. She’s teamed up with Attorney General Roy
Cooper, the Human Rights Campaign and the rest of the national
Political Correctness Mob to trash the reputation of her own city and
wage war on her own state. With the help of the Liberal Media, they
have covered up the truth about the bathroom ordinance supporters.
They have lied about and misrepresented what the bill does.
Unless Mayor Roberts and Attorney General Cooper call off their
far-deft financial supporters and political .allies they will likely pause
Charlotte more damage including potentially losing the NBA All-
Star game.
The Bathroom Safety Bill does five key things:
1. First and foremost, it makes sure that elementary, middle and
high school children will not have to share bathrooms and locker
rooms that are for use by more than one person at a time with the
opposite sex. The bill still allows schools to accommodate individ
ual students’ needs with single occupancy multi-sex bathrooms and
locker rooms.
2. The bill applies the same common-sense rule to public build
ings throughout North Carolina.
3. The bill prohibits local governments from mandating business
es adopt any specific bathroom and locker room policy. Importantly,
this makes businesses free to make their own decisions regarding
how to set up bathroom and locker rooms. Businesses may choose
to offer gender-neutral bathrooms and changing rooms if that is what
their customers demand. Conversely, if a church wants to keep their
bathrooms separated by gender they may do so. Likewise, this bill
does nothing to any business’s existing or future choice to implement
more expansive workplace or accommodation policies. The bill stops
local governments from dictating to business and preserves for every
business the flexibility to craft its own solution to these challenges.
4. The bill, for the first time, implements a statewide policy anti
discrimination in public accommodations that goes beyond what fed
eral law requires:
a) It is the public policy of this State to protect and safeguard
the right and opportunity of all individuals within the State to enjoy
fully and equally the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advan
tages, and accommodations of places of public accommodation free
of discrimination because of race, religion, color, national origin, or
biological sex, provided that designating multiple or single occupan
cy bathrooms or changing facilities according to biological sex, as
defined in G.S. 143-760(a)(l), (3), and (5), shall not be deemed to
constitute discrimination.
5. Finally, the bill provides a single consistent statewide process
and set of regulations related to anti-discrimination complaints, wage
and work standards that reaffirms longstanding state policy making
the State Human Relations Commission the venue responsible for
handling these complaints:
(a) It is the public policy of this State to protect and safeguard
the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain and hold em
ployment without discrimination or abridgement on account of race,
religion, color, national origin, age, biological sex or handicap by
employers which regularly employ 15 or more employees.
(b) It is recognized that the practice of denying employment op
portunity and discriminating in the terms of employment foments
domestic strife and unrest, deprives the State of the fullest utilization
of its capacities for advancement and development, and substantially
and adversely affects the interests of employees, employers, and the
public in general.
(c) The General Assembly declares that the regulation of dis
criminatory practices in employment is properly an issue of general,
statewide concern, such that this Article and other applicable provi
sions of the General Statutes supersede and preempt any ordinance,
regulation, resolution, or policy adopted or imposed by a unit of local
government or other political subdivision of the State that regulates
or imposes any requirement upon an employer pertaining to the regu
lation of discriminatory practices in employment, except such regu
lations applicable to personnel employed by that body that are not
otherwise in conflict with State law.
* 143-422.3. Investigations; conciliations.
The Human Relations Commission in the Department of Admin
istration shall have the authority to receive charges of discrimination
from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission pursuant to an
agreement under Section 709(b) of Public Law 88-352, as amended
by Public Law 92-261, and investigate and conciliate charges of dis
crimination. Throughout this process, the agency shall use its good
offices to effect an amicable resolution of the charges of discrimina
tion. This Article does not create, and shall not be construed to create
or support, a statutory or common law private right of action, and
no person may bring any civil action based upon the public policy
expressed herein.
commit crimes in bath-
rooms and locker rooms.
However, when Equality
NC’s Chris Sgro pointed
out that “There have not
been any public safety is
sues” in cities that allow
transgender people to use
the bathrooms they’re more
comfortable in, PolitiFact
supported Sgro’s claim.
Meanwhile, the right-
wing NC Values Coalition
sent out a list of“over 300
businesses” which suppos
edly support the law. When
questioned by the Greens
boro News & Record, the
group admitted their list of
“businesses” was actually
300 private individuals. Of
the remaining handful of
businesses, the largest --
Hanesbrand — immediately
asked to be taken off the
list because they do NOT
in fact support HB2. And
another business on the list
was actually found to be lo
cated in SOUTH Carolina!
And just this week, af
ter PayPal announced that
it was canceling a planned
400-job expansion in North
Carolina because of HB2,
Lieutenant Governor Dan
Forest tried to claim that
PayPal’s gender-specific
bathrooms would have
been “illegal” under the
Charlotte ordinance. For
est’s claim that the Char
lotte ordinance would have
somehow forced private
businesses to eliminate
gender-specific bathrooms
altogether is patently false.
“It’s awlully telling that
Gov. McCrory and his al
lies are unable to defend
HB2 without resorting to
false claims and bogus
scare tactics,” said Gerrick
Brenner, executive direc
tor of Progress NC Action.
“HB2 is costing North Car
olina jobs, but Gov. Mc
Crory continues to wage a
'war on facts’ in order to
defend the indefensible.
Maybe the governor didn’t
understand what he was
signing when he rushed to
enact this misguided law,
but now the facts are clear:
HB2 is bad for business.”
Arts North Carolina
Baord Opposes HB-2
On March 30, the Arts North
Carolina Board met and dis
cussed our organization’s re
sponse to HB2. It was deter
mined that our core mission and
vision statements unanimously
adopted in 2014 clearly state our
position of commitment to inclu
sion, diversity, and access:
ARTS North Carolina calls
for equity and access to the arts
for all North Carolinians, unifies
and connects North Carolina’s
arts communities, and fosters
arts leadership. We speak for the
arts wherever there is need. Arts
North Carolina unites people
and communities to strengthen
and celebrate a creative North
Carolina. We strive to create a
vibrant North Carolina where
the arts are embraced by all as
indispensable.
Or simply put: all the arts, for
all the people, in every place.
The outpouring ofprotest will
possibly result in a reconsidera
tion of HB2 when session con
venes on April 25. Arts North
Carolina seeks to gather as many
facts as the industry can give us
that illustrate economic, educa
tion, or civic impact of HB2. A
special shout out to North Caro
lina Theatre Conference, John
C. Campbell Folk School, Full
Frame Documentary, Lee Street
Theatre, and American Dance
Festival for your work in gather
ing audience and donor respons
es.
Please send any specific in
formation you might have to ad-
vocacy@artsnc.org.
With gratitude for your ser
vice to the arts,
Karen Wells
Executive Director
Statement from Triangle Rabbis Against HB-2
We, the undersigned Rabbis of the Triangle, express our deep dismay in the recent passage of
the law known as H.B. 2. As leaders of a faith community which has repeatedly suffered from state-
sponsored discrimination and citizen-based prejudice, we will not stand idly by as our North Carolina
legislature weakens the legal protections of our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender brothers and
sisters. The Torah teaches that all human beings are created in the image of God and imbued with
infinite value. In that spirit, we declare that our state should, under no circumstance, desecrate the holi
ness and dignity of any citizen. We, therefore, demand that H.B. 2 be repealed. Furthermore, we urge
North Carolina residents to contact their local elected officials and express their concerns. Our prayers
are with the thousands of North Carolinians whose humanity is under attack. We stand with them, and
against those who would strip them of their legal guarantees under the law.
Organizers: Rabbi Eric Solomon Beth Meyer Synagogue
Rabbi Larry Bach Judea Reform Congregation
Rabbi Leah Citrin, Temple Beth Or
Rabbi Susan Cowchuck, MD
Rabbi Lucy Dinner, Temple Beth Or
Rabbi Ariel Edery, Beth Shalom
Rabbi Jen Feldman, Kehillah Synagogue
Rabbi Frank A. Fischer
Rabbi Elana Friedman, Freeman Center for Jewish Life at Duke University
Rabbi John Friedman, Rabbi Emeritus, Judea Reform Congregation
Rabbi Daniel Greyber, Beth El Synagogue
Rabbi Raachel Jurovics, Yavneh: A Jewish Renewal Community
Rabbi Steven Kirschner
(Prof.) Rabbi Laura Lieber, Duke University
Rabbi Ariel Naveh, University of North Carolina Hillel
Rabbi Steven Sager, Director of Sicha
Rabbi Jennifer Solomon, Beth Meyer Synagogue
Durham Chamber of Commerce Takes a Position on HB2
The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce and its Board of Directors releases the following state
ment today on House Bill 2:
“The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce stands with the many companies, communities and in
dividuals in opposing HB2 and all legislation which discriminates against men, women, governments and
private companies living in, traveling to and doing business in North Carolina. Durham, is an inclusive
community which is home to many diverse people, festivals and research centers. Consistent with our
mission to promote economic development and support quality of life in Durham, we condemn measures
that negatively impact businesses, or curtail the civil rights and liberties of our neighbors and guests”.
Geoff Durham - President and CEO, Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce
The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce is the leading economic development organization in
Durham. Innovation, economic development and business empowerment are the heart of this thriving
pro-active business leadership organization.
STATEMENT FROM DUKE UNIVERSITY
LEADERS REGARDING HB2
The following statement by Duke s president, provost and chancellor
for health affairs was released April 18.
Duke University is committed to fostering an open, welcoming, inclusive community that respects
each individual. We remain steadfast in our policies of nondiscrimination and inclusion for all of our
students, faculty, staff, alumni, patients, fans and visitors.
We deplore in the strongest possible terms the new state law, HB2, that prevents municipalities from
establishing laws that protect members of the LGBTQ+ community and others from discrimination and
eliminates some economic advancement opportunities for underrepresented communities.
As a result of this law, North Carolina has already suffered damage to its national and international
reputation as a leader in the fair treatment of its citizens. The economic and material impact is being felt
across the state in many ways, including at universities. Scholars from states and municipalities that have
imposed bans on government travel to North Carolina have been unable to travel to Duke to continue vi
tal ongoing research partnerships or attend academic conferences. Prospective students, faculty and staff,
as well as Duke alumni planning visits to campus, have voiced concerns about whether they will find a
hospitable environment in North Carolina. These developments have the potential to limit the value that
Duke and other colleges and universities contribute to the state, namely producing trained graduates and
expanding the frontiers of knowledge.
We extend our concern and support to those who have been most directly affected - the members
of Duke’s LGBTQ-i- community. We encourage anyone needing assistance to turn to the many support
services that Duke offers.
In spirit and in letter, this new law runs counter to the ideals of Duke University - and, we believe, to
those of our great state. We urge a full repeal of HB2.
Richard Brodhead
President
Sally Kornbluth
Provost
A. Eugene Washington
Chancellor for Health Affairs
President and CEO, Duke University Health System
Deborah Ross
Statement on Pay
Pal’s HB2 Decision
s and CEOs have condemned the law, saying it “sanctioned discrimi
nation across North Carolina” and that it is “bad for our employees
and bad for business.”
RALEIGH - Deborah Ross,
Democratic nominee for U.S.
Senate, released the following
statement after PayPal canceled
plans to build a global opera
tions center in Charlotte
“Senator Burr claims this
law 'does not discriminate’ and
'doesn’t involve federal issues,’
but the facts show that this dis
crimination bill is costing North
Carolina real jobs and economic
growth. Senator Burr is out of
touch, and North Carolina needs
a U.S. Senator who understands
the law’s impact and cares about
all the people of our state.”
PayPal’s cancelation of the
$3.6 million project will cost
North Carolina 400 jobs and
more than $20 million a year.
Additionally, the law has hurt
the state’s $5 billion High
Point Furniture Market, and
has caused Braeburn Pharma
ceuticals, Inc. to reevaluate a
$20 million economic develop
ment project in Durham County.
More than 120 business leader
WANTED DBE, WBE & MBE BIDS
for the following jobs:
City of Raleigh
PW2015-20 Spruce Tree Way Signal Installation
Wake Co. Bid Date: April 26th
Division Two Letting
DB00253 Beaufort Co. Bid Date: April 27th
Division Five Letting
DE00131 Wake Co. Bid Date: April 27th
City of Raleigh
Park Paving - Jaycee Park Project
Wake Co. Bid Date: April 28th
Division Four Letting
DD00174 Johnston Co. Bid Date: May 10th
These projects may involve some or all of the following aspects
of construction: construction survey, clear and grub, trucking,
drainage, milling, paving, incidental concrete, fence and guardrail,
signs, traffic control, pavement marking, utilities, erosion control,
seeding, signals and structures.
Please contact S. T. Wooten Corporation at 252-291-5165,
Fax 252-243-0900 no later than 5:00 p.m.
the day before the bid date.