In front of a boisterous full chamber, the Wilmington City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution urging the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal its House Bill 2, the controversial law passed in March that has outraged advocates for gay, lesbian and transgender issues.
After hearing from a handful of speakers, the council passed the resolution on a 6-0 vote, which said that “House Bill 2 does not allow for the full inclusion and dignity of all of our residents.” And though H.B. 2 has been mostly associated with bathroom use by transgendered people, both the speakers and the council’s resolution addressed a range of concerns with the legislation, which also broadly changed the state’s civil rights laws and even blocked cities from raising the minimum wage.
The city’s resolution said that H.B. 2 intrudes on local authority in several ways, while also uniquely hurting the region’s economy, as it noted that Wilmington needed the high-tech skilled workers that make up the businesses of the future.
The resolution wasn’t on the council’s agenda, but a widely circulated Facebook group indicated that a group of more than 200 had committed to come, and Mayor Bill Saffo told the group that the council had drafted a resolution in anticipation.
Saffo said that state legislature should rescind the bill.
“It was done in a quick manner,” he said. “It needs a lot more discussion.”
H.B. 2 was passed March 23 after a special session called in response to a recently passed Charlotte ordinance that advocates and city leaders argued would address transgendered concerns over bathroom usage by relaxing gender restrictions for bathrooms and changing areas. However, state legislators said they worried about privacy concerns and the potential for predators to take advantage of the ordinance.
The final speaker was T.R. Nunley, a female-to-male transgender person, who sported a beard on his chin. He said he was born female but “presents” as male and as such, would be required to use a women’s restroom under H.B. 2. With his male appearance, Nunley said H.B. 2 makes him now more a target, as he suspected men would take more concern with his using the women’s bathroom.
“The North Carolina trans community, we were already afraid, but now we’re even more afraid,” Nunley said. “If I go into a female restroom, it puts me in danger.”
Deborah Dicks Maxwell, president of the New Hanover County NAACP, told the council the bill was implemented to divide the state in an election year, while Ryan Lee Burris of Cape Fear Equality said the bill would have an impact on the film industry in North Carolina.
Sandra Lee focused her remarks entirely on the impact H.B. 2 has on the state’s school system, stating that the bill would put it out of compliance with federal Title IX law, which requires equal treatment for transgender individuals, including bathroom rights.
“It could cost the state billions in federal money,” Lee said.
Moreover, Lee said the bill would also make it more difficult for administrators to hire and manage some employees, while creating a more hostile environment for LGBT students.
“H.B. 2 will increase bullying, harassment and violence against our most vulnerable children,” she said.
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