North Carolina GOP Speaker Vows To Nullify Charlotte’s ‘Radical’ New LGBT Nondiscrimination Bill
Top House Lawmaker Joined by Other Republicans Promising to Undo ‘Major Public Safety Issue’ of Protecting LGBT Civil Rights
Less than 24 hours after the Charlotte City Council passed a historic LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance by a strong margin, the State of North Carolina‘s top House lawmaker has vowed to nullify it.Â
Republican House Speaker Tim Moore says the House will take steps “to correct this radical course,†as the Charlotte Observer reports.Â
Monday night, after more than three hours of testimony from over 140 speakers, Charlotte council members voted 7-4 to expand its nondiscrimination ordinance to LGBT people in areas of public accommodations.
Even before the city council met, Republican Pat McCrory sent the city council an email warning them to not pass the legislation.
Charlotte City Council has gone against all common sense & has created a major public safety issue. Full statement: pic.twitter.com/DpPGa0hW4v
— Speaker Tim Moore (@NCHouseSpeaker) February 23, 2016
“I join my conservative colleagues and Gov. McCrory in exploring legislative intervention,” Speaker Moore said. “The Charlotte City Council has gone against all common sense and has created a major public safety issue by opening all bathrooms and changing rooms to the general public.â€Â
He claims the expanded nondiscrimination ordinance – which isn’t nearly as comprehensive as some of the other 250 cities large ans small have enacted across the nation – would be “impossible to regulate as intended,” and claims, falsely, that it “creates undue regulatory burdens on private businesses.”
Moore is far from the only lawmaker who wasted no time speaking out against the bill.
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“I oppose it and I feel like the General Assembly will pass a law reversing it. It’s just inappropriate. I’m surprised and I’m disappointed,†Republican Sen. David Curtis told the Lincoln Times-News. “I think it’s just inappropriate. We have rules in our society and that’s just one of the rules in our society. This liberal group is trying to redefine everything about our society. Gender and marriage, just the whole liberal agenda.â€Â
And over in the NC House, Rep. Jason Saine said, “I believe Speaker Moore and Gov. McCrory have framed this issue correctly and will support legislative efforts to address this issue and restore common sense where absent.â€
Not one state lawmaker opposed to the legislation has acknowledged that duly-elected lawmakers in Charlotte passed a law that is neither unconstitutional not one that violates any state or federal law, rule, or regulation, and that they are usurping the authority of Charlotte’s government by promising to undo the ordinance.
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Image: Screenshot via YouTube
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