In other news about LGBT peoples and the ongoing bigotry:
North Carolina Gov. Alters Discriminatory Law — Barely.
In reaction to the backlash against its new anti-LGBT law, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has signed an executive order that makes modest changes.
McCrory’s order, announced today, maintains the major portions of the law, known as House Bill 2, which prevents local governments from enacting or enforcing LGBT-inclusive employment nondiscrimination ordinances (affecting private businesses or contractors) and bars transgender people from using the restrooms, locker rooms, and other sex-segregated facilities comporting with their gender identity, if these facilities are located in government buildings, including public elementary and secondary schools and state colleges and universities.
The order does affirm that private businesses and nonprofit groups can establish their own policies for these facilities, something that was not affected by the law but has been the subject of some confusion.
Deutsche Bank Halts Plans for Adding Jobs in North Carolina.
“We take our commitment to building inclusive work environments seriously,” John Cryan, the chief executive of Germany’s largest lender, said in a statement on Tuesday.
N.C. Democrat ‘Haunted’ By Support for Anti-LGBT Law Now Urges Repeal.
North Carolina state Rep. Billy Richardson apologized Monday for his vote on House Bill 2, and called for the anti-LGBT law to be repealed.
[…]
“Since our hasty vote on HB2, I have been haunted by the fact that in one rushed action, I undermined a lifetime of fighting against those who would demonize a group of citizens to gain political advantage and to advance an unjust agenda,” wrote Richardson. “HB 2 gives green light to this discrimination in housing, employment, and other areas. To paraphrase Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, we must never make any group of citizens a stranger to the laws of their own state.” […] He admitted that he made a mistake by voting for HB 2. “You can’t fix a wrong until you acknowledge a mistake,” Richardson wrote. “I was wrong and I will stand with all North Carolinians who dream of fulfilling the words of the official toast for our Old North State, ‘where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great.'”
Can This Mississippi Democrat Overturn Anti-LGBT ‘Religious Liberty’ Bill?
Mississippi lawmakers will introduce a bill today to block the anti-LGBT bill recently signed into law by Gov. Phil Bryant.
John Grisham Joins 95 Mississippi Authors in Letter Protesting Anti-LGBT Law.
The writers stated in the eloquent letter released Monday that Mississippi “has nourished intolerance and degradation and brutality, which has looked at difference as a threat.”
There has to be some really big (personal) money behind these laws. Otherwise, the state legislatures and governors passing them couldn’t possibly be stupid enough not to anticipate the harsh responses.
Until Pence did it in Indiana, there wasn’t a clear expectation of backlash but since then, any effort to legalize discrimination shouldn’t be surprised by the result.
MikeMa:
I don’t think they are that stupid, either. I do think they are that determined to hold onto the power and privilege they see as their right as ‘good, white Christians’.
If it is power and continuing in office is the goal, the backlash would indicate a sizable, and growing, counterpoint. I think they miscalculated the size of the backlash and the cost. Especially the cost.
Slightly tongue-in-cheek, the usual suspects, Faux & Kockroach Bros., UnLimited. I’ve generally understood the Kochs to be fairly extreme fundamentalists, and they certainly have the money, and the belief that that entitles them to have a big say.
Not tongue-in-cheek, I assume these laws are following a common-ish pattern. In the case of the anti-SSM laws, many(? some?) certainly were, which — if my memory is correct — were based on some “model” legislation by some nutter organization. Unfortunately, my Generalissimo Google-fu is not-fu’ing tonight, and I simply cannot find / recall the name of that organization…
If you watch the trans guys in the video it becomes obvious how ridiculous these laws are. They would force these guys to use the women’s restroom which, in turn, would make it completely unnecessary for male predators* “to put on a dress”. After all the law says that some bearded guys must use the ladies’ room!
*I’m just wondering: If those laws are to keep little girls safe from rapists, what are they doing to keep little boys safe from rapist’s in the men’s room?
Tiny bit of light, from the “I’ll take it where I can find it” files:
I heard yesterday that the Democratic party of Guilford County, NC (where Greensboro is) just selected Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC, to fill a district seat left vacant when elected Rep. Ralph Johnson, himself a consistent opponent of the craptastic piles of crap the GOP has been pushing in the state, suddenly died.
The governor is required by law to approve such selections. So, Gov. Mcrory, professional asshole, is legally required to approve the (albeit temporary) appointment of a guy whose organization is a ginormous thorn in his side, and indeed, is one of those at the forefront of the opposition to HB2. Rep. Sgro, who is the only current gay representative in NC and one of three in history, will get the opportunity to speak on the legislative floor of the House for the next 8 months as a peer.
That was about as strategic a selection on the part of Guilford Dems as one could have hoped for, esp. given the tragic circumstances, and I hope Rep. Sgro raises some hell.
blf
They are atheists -- they may be free market fundamentalists. However, their complete lack of ethics allows them to use religious fundamentalists to achieve their goals. I doubt if they care one way or the other about GBLTQ people. That is the advantage of Libertarianism -- you can be all for the right of people to be gay/trans/whatever while supporting the right of bigots to discriminate against them. You have the moral high ground of not being a bigot while keeping the bigots on your side to support the rest of your agenda.
According to the Calgary Police Service’s Environmental Design specialist, the common double door washroom entrance is dangerous because it acts as a sound barrier. A maze entrance is a much better to achieve the objective of preventing someone from seeing into the washroom (not sure what they could see anyway) when some one is entering or leaving.
A bit of searching this morning only indicates there is no known religious affiliation for either brother, which is not quite the same thing. It’s probably more accurate to say “The Koch brothers’s religious beliefs, if any, are unknown.” So I’ll amend by comment in @4 to:
Yep. That came up last week. Now, a lot of muscle-y, bearded men are going to be in the women’s lav, and that’s not going to cause a fuss? You know it’s going to upset people, which just goes to prove that it doesn’t matter what you are packing in your pants -- it is appearance that counts.
Oh, that won’t ever be addressed. No one likes to talk about rape when it involves a boy or man.
Mine @ 10 was in response to Giliell.
Onamission5:
Here’s hoping he’s on fire for those months, and I hope the lawsuit Equality NC is bringing against McCrory knocks that bigoted ass flat.
It is entirely possible the nutter organisation I was trying to recall in @4 — the ones behind a lot of the anti-SSM and now “bathroom” / anti-LGBT silliness — is, as per the recent post, Liberty Counsel Behind Anti-LGBT Bills in 20 States, Liberty Counsel.
Blf:
Most likely. Liberty Counsel likes to skulk about in the background, doing nefarious, evil shit.
The point being, of course, to now use the basic axiom when dealing with thugs: “Follow the money! Follow the money!” As a reminder, MikeMa@1 was wondering who was behind the bigoted silliness, speculating that “There has to be some really big (personal) money behind these laws.”
Blf:
Liberty Counsel is a tax-exempt organization, associated with Falwell’s Liberty university. There’s plenty of fuckin’ money, most of which I suspect is being soaked from a whole lot of “good christians”.