It’s possible people aren’t aware of this yet, but there was a law passed by the General Assembly in a special session yesterday that has generated some controversy. Intended to quash Charlotte’s transgender bathroom ordinance, the law went further by repealing anti-discrimination laws that are tougher than those at the state level.
Although Senate Democrats walked out en masse rather than vote for what they termed a “farce”, in the House the bill received bipartisan support – meaning that 11 Democrats voted for the bill, those being:
Rep. William Brisson (Bladen)
Rep. Charles Graham (Robeson)
Rep. Elmer Floyd (Cumberland)
Rep. George Graham (Lenoir)
Rep. Ken Goodman (Richmond)
Rep. Howard Hunter (Hertford)
Rep. Larry Bell (Sampson)
Rep. Garland Pierce (Scotland)
Rep. Brad Salmon (Harnett)
Rep. William Richardson (Cumberland)
Rep. Michael Wray (Northampton)
Note that many of these members, Democrats voting ‘aye’, are members of the Legislative Black Caucus. They represent socially conservative districts where the concept of gender identity and transgender rights are very foreign concepts. Should Roy Cooper be elected governor and Democrats manage to roll back the GOP’s veto-proof majorities, passing social liberal legislation will be tough with these members as an obstacle.
It is not a surprise to see Salmon and Richardson on the list. They are in competitive elections this November, especially Salmon. Obviously they calculated that it would be better to support the law than to give a Republican challenger an issue on the right. The fear of their opponents running ads accusing them of wanting to let phony transgender sex offenders raid opposite sex bathrooms drove their votes. Also noteworthy is that two Democrats – Rep. Edward Hanes and Rep. Robert Reives – voted aye initially but later changed their votes to nay.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see how this whole thing shakes out. Tempest in a teapot, or miscalculated overreach by Governor McCrory and the Republican legislature? If the latter, there’s no doubt Republicans will point to the 11 Democrats voting in favor as giving them bipartisan cover.
John Wynne is the “conservative voice” at PoliticsNC, where he also provides polling analysis and commentary on legislative campaigns. When not writing about politics, he enjoys gardening and listening to opera. Contact: johncwynne@gmail.com.
The reasons to ridicule the NC (Not Conscious) leadership elected by the citizens of Not Conscious most horrifically rests on HB 819, otherwise known as the “Climate Change Denial” bill. I am referring to The Collapse of Western Civilization by Naomi ORESkes.
We have good reasons to fear the Government, not for what it does in the open for reprehensible operating procedures, but for legalizing lies. This is the case in HB 819 which allowed Real Estate Brokers to sell land without having to reveal that the land was going to be underwater within the lifetimes of the buyers.
It is striking that the Triad Business Journal reported “Food Insecurity” as 23 percent in the Triad as recently as last year. (If “Food Insecurity” isn’t poverty, I don’t know what is.) Employment ought mean no “Food Insecurity” in the State of North Carolina. Obviously it does not when unemployment is even 6 percent.
Gender and racial political laws resulting from politicians conflicts are absolute gifts to power as wonderful distractions from issues that mean less food, clothing and shelter for the working people of North Carolina.
It is much more going to prevent the evidence that advances in the living wage benefit the overall economic health of any metropolitan or even rural areas, if blocked from being tried, as was the case in Seattle.
Five of the House Democrats who voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 2012 voted for HB 2 this past week. Reps. Graham, Floyd and Pierce are members of the Legislative Black Caucus.
Rep. William Brisson (Bladen)
Rep. Charles Graham (Robeson)
Rep. Elmer Floyd (Cumberland)
Rep. Ken Goodman (Richmond)
Rep. Garland Pierce (Scotland)
Other House members of the LBC who voted for HB2 are
Reps. George Graham (Lenoir), Howard Hunter (Hertford), and Larry
Bell (Sampson). Rep. Bell was in the House in 2012, when he did not vote for DOMA.
Rep. Michael Wray (Northampton) did not vote for DOMA in 2012.
Reps. Brad Salmon and William (Billy) Richardson were not in the GA in 2012.
This is the silliest, most potentially dangerous crap I’ve heard of in a long time. I don’t know what ELSE was “un-legislated, and if the GOP was responsible, THAT action was probably over the top, but seriously, folks, this bathroom thing is ridiculous in the face of poisoned water, crumbling infrastructure, election fraud, Trump insanity, a living wage, universal healthcare, education reform…and the list goes on.
Stop acting like spoiled brats who can’t get their way.
It’s classic ideology-based behavior. They cannot find the common sense or moral compass to address real-world, immediate issues like those you list–issues that affect each and every NC’er in some way. they have no sense of, or respect for, public service. And they’ll wax about the sanctity and importance of either the state’s or nation’s constitution, but only when doing so suits their ideological dogma and/or the personal/political success.
well, in classics Republican Conservative Tradition we see that they are blowing $42,000 a day in a purely partisan grandstanding play to garish more votes from the bigot base.
It was totally unnecessary to call a “Special Session ” to address this non- critical issue. Had this been a “Flint water Crisis ” or “Duke Coal Ash Pond’ it might have been justified.
According to their own logic, Real Pedophiles would not wait for a city ordnance to be passed before beginning their crime spree.
The other part of this bill that is outraging is their effort to block any city from raising the local minimum wage such as Seattle, Washington did with great success. Guess that they would not want a economic experiment going on in the state that might contradict and contrast their own Koch ALEC spawned failed economic venture . by the way that is probally why it is taking so long for them to come up with a “Cooked Book ” budget that makes it “Appear on Paper that they state isn’t failing like Kansas is. take a close look at the recent bond and match it to the budget cuts it’s really fishy
I thought a”conservative” was a budget watcher? Guess $42000 here there is an acceptable budget addition.
I’m just disappointed that the backers of this bill didn’t call it what it is: “The NC Uniformity of Bigotry and Right to Work for Less Act.” Convening a special session for this exercise in wing-nut comedy is a perfect barometer for the level of “leadership” in the GOP.
Speaking of this idiotic bill and comedy, below is just one example of the field day comedians and satirists will have with NC’s reputation and image. And, in this case example, so pleased the McCrory is the pol satirized so savagely.
The gov could have shown himself to be sane and to have a backbone, but, of course, he could not have signed the bill more quickly if he tried…….
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/n-c-gov-swears-in-class-of-bathroom-enforcement-cadets
Yup. And I hope the bathroom enforcement cadets are being rigorously schooled in. their line of inquiry: “Excuse me, Maamsir. Before you go in to squat on the pot, may I see your birth certificate?”
Did these representatives support Amendment One? Some of the Black communities believed the lies spewed by the GOP. These men were elected to represent the voters. Maybe, just maybe this is what they wanted.
Great, John. Kudos.
Ignore the national press coverage now being launch at NC as THE leading backwater discriminatory state.
Ignore the wide array of businesses and corporations that are now voicing their concerns, many about the adverse economic and hiring/recruiting impacts.
Make no mention that even the NCAA said it would review the bill in light of planned basketball tournament action in the state in upcoming years.
Imply that this ill-advised bill can’t be all that bad as it was supported by 11 Dems, while failing to mention that a majority of House Dems opposed it.
In one breath, opine that “if Democrats manage to roll back the GOP’s veto-proof majorities, passing social liberal legislation will be tough with these members as an obstacle,” but, in the next breath, suggest that Dem “aye” votes may have been simply about election-year positioning against right-wing GOP opponents (wouldn’t that be a hint to you that their support of such discriminatory bills could dissolve after election day?).
One of your most illogical, meandering, and misleading blogs yet. Congrats.
I agree. And didn’t the Democrats walk out as a symbol of their disgust with the bill and the way it had been presented – AND the fact that there also not enough Democrat votes to overturn it anyway??
Is this author angling for a job at Fox?
Ah, the party of “small government” and “local control” strikes again!
Here is the comment from the DNC:
WASHINGTON – Upon news that North Carolina Republican Governor Pat McCrory will sign a discriminatory anti-LGBT bill into law tonight, the Democratic National Committee has released the following statement.
When the Charlotte city council expanded protections for transgender people with a new ordinance last month, Republicans in the North Carolina state legislature were so disgusted that they announced they would take the unusual step of convening a special session today in order to block it.
But for one of the most extreme legislatures in the country, dragging one city backwards wasn’t enough. Instead of destroying just one progressive ordinance in one city, the legislation they passed in today’s special session blocks all LGBT non-discrimination ordinances passed by any local government across the entire state, and protects businesses that discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity. But they didn’t stop there. State lawmakers took the opportunity to overreach even more by forbidding North Carolina cities from raising the minimum wage with living wage ordinances.
“This is sadly unsurprising from a party that seems determined to stay stuck in the Stone Age on LGBT equality. From their refusal to accept marriage equality as the law of the land, to their disingenuous ‘free speech’ and ‘religious freedom’ justifications for discrimination, Republicans are hurting Americans who deserve the full and equal protection of the law. Now the same state lawmakers who pretend to love limited government are steamrolling over local officials just because they had the courage to stand up for transgender rights. Our friends in the LGBT community deserve better and so do all the people of North Carolina,” said DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
“While Republicans in DC refuse to do their job in confirming a Supreme Court justice, Republicans in North Carolina are calling a special session to repeal every local non-discrimination law protecting the LGBT community across the entire state. They’d rather spend the taxpayer’s money to take away the rights of North Carolina’s citizens than deal with the massive cuts to education they have also forced on families,” said Earl Fowlkes, chair of the LGBT Caucus of the Democratic National Committee.
“What we’re seeing here is a more extreme version of the radical ‘Right to Discriminate’ laws that have failed in other states like Indiana. Rather than requiring a ‘religious objection’ to discriminate, which is already bad enough, this wholesale repeal of all municipal non-discrimination laws in the entire state is a new low. This proposed bill gives businesses, like hotels and restaurants, a license to discriminate against gay and transgender people with total impunity. And that is simply wrong,” said Ryan Butler, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party’s LGBT Caucus.
This follows recent actions in Republican controlled legislatures in Georgia, Kentucky, and Missouri to pass Indiana-style ‘Right to Discriminate’ laws that would permit businesses and others to discriminate against LGBT people.
Thanks for the list. I will be keeping it for future reference. Had the legislation stopped with only the bathroom issue, it might have had a short shelf life. Now, I think not.
I don’t support discrimination of anybody, but this is the sort of issue that Republicans focus on to distract us from the actual important issues. What we’re talking about is a very few people having to continue to use a bathroom now and then they makes them uncomfortable.
The kind of issue that is important to me affects all of us first and foremost. People’s bathroom choice is going to seem pretty minor if TPP or any other disastrous trade policy passes, or fracking is allowed to destroy our clean water, or those coal ash ponds are not taken care of by the guilty polluting company. Let’s focus on electing progressive democrats who will naturally vote logically on issues big and small, instead of spending all of our energy on the false flag issues. We will get to those issues when the major items are handled, but overcoming this corrupt DNC is front and center.