Here’s what trans people are saying about North Carolina’s anti-LGBT bill

The PBS NewsHour | Mar 25, 2016

People hold up rainbow flags during an lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) parade. Photo by Samuel Kubani/AFP/Getty Images

Days after North Carolina passed a bill that has been called the most anti-LGBT law in the U.S., members of the transgender community and their allies are not staying silent.

House Bill 2, the law that was passed 12 hours after its introduction to the public, prevents cities from passing LGBT protections laws and requires transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond to the gender they were assigned at birth.

These so-called “bathroom bills,” LGBT advocates say, completely miss the point by focusing public attention on transgender people’s bodies instead of other daily risks they face and legal protections they still lack. Model and activist Janet Mock, along with BuzzFeed reporter Meredith Talusan, pointed this out on Twitter.

There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.

There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.

There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.

Several people tweeted pictures of themselves to North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, asking him if they should use a bathroom that does not match their gender.

There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.

There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.

Advocates have spoken out to say they fear the bill will only serve to dehumanize transgender people. To date, 18 states and the District of Columbia have laws that explicitly prohibit discrimination against people based on their gender identity, and those laws vary in terms of what they address between employment, housing and public accommodations.

There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.

There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.

Others questioned whether the bill will stay in effect for long. The ACLU, Lambda Legal and Equality NC are considering legal challenges to the bill.

There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.

There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.

There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.

There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.

For some, including agender, genderqueer and nonbinary people, this debate — which focuses on “male” vs. “female” restrooms — leaves out their own gender identity.

There should be an embedded item here. Please visit the original post to view it.

The post Here’s what trans people are saying about North Carolina’s anti-LGBT bill appeared first on PBS NewsHour.

Top Stories

The Empty Rent Stabilized Units in NYC

Pressure mounts on Mamdani over expanding housing voucher program in budget talks

The Fantasy of America at 250

Are Carriage Horses a Thing of the Past?

YOU ARE ONLINE