The sweeping effects of HB2, the local response and a look at how Asheville and North Carolina got to this point

Above: Opponents of HB2 gather on March 24 to express their opposition to the bill. Photos by Bill Rhodes.

It was a windy, grey afternoon last Thursday when 100 people poured into the north end of Pack Square. With trans, American and LGBT pride flags fluttering in the wind, they were gathered in a rally called by the Campaign for Southern Equality, Tranzmission and the local NAACP in response to a bill quickly passed by a special session of the North Carolina General Assembly the day before.

That bill, HB2, came after Charlotte’s City Council passed increased protections for LGBT residents in late February. That move added protections for LGBT people’s access to public accommodations — bars, restaurants, hotels, taxis, etc. — and government contracts to a nearly 50-year-old ordinance against discrimination on the basis of race, religion and a number of other factors. Included in that measure was also a provision ensuring trans people could access the restroom matching their gender identity.

That last part got much of the focus from opponents. In the process opponents of the measure brandished bigoted stereotypes about trans people as violent predators who would use such a law to assault others while using the bathroom. This has, importantly, never happened, though according to one study a majority of trans people have faced harassment while trying to use the bathroom. Some local right-wing candidates even swore they’d go armed into bathrooms if trans people were allowed to use them.

Passed in the course of a day, HB2 did end all local nondiscrimination ordinances that went beyond any categories protected by state law (which notably does not protect LGBT people from discrimination). It also required people using school or government bathrooms across the state to only use those matching the sex listed on their birth certificate, though the bill doesn’t specify how this will be enforced.

However, the bill went much further: it also stripped local labor protections, including the possibility of a local minimum wage (something Ashevillians had debated), and the right to sue for most types of employment discrimination in state courts. Yesterday, the bill was hit with a lawsuit by the ACLU and multiple LGBT rights groups, asserting that it violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law on several grounds.

As the rally began, the numbers grew to around 300 people filling the square near the Vance monument.

“We are standing up today to say this is not who we are: we are better than this,” Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, CSE’s director, declared to the crowd.

Condemning the bill as “probably illegal and unconstitutional,” Beach-Ferrara also noted she was “angry as hell” and “heartbroken,” while assuring those affected by the bill that “we care about you, we have your backs and we will do everything in our power to fight for your dignity.”

“We are angry at the North Carolina officials that are telling us we are not equal, that we don’t deserve the most basic of human rights: accessing public spaces safely” Ivy Hill, a CSE staffer, said. “We have got to figure out how to come together in solidarity and use that anger to build a community that is safe for all of its citizens.”

“We’ve been told that we don’t exist, that there’s something wrong with us and that we are dangerous,” ze continued. “We are your friends, neighbors, teachers and faith leaders. We live in every town across this country and Asheville has a strong trans community. We are here today to say that no matter what North Carolina’s legislature thinks, we are equal.”

Of course, HB2 didn’t happen in vacuum, statewide or locally. It follows a long back-and-forth over the rights protected (or denied) to LGBT North Carolinians, as well as issues of local control and the extent of the ability to regulate private business in an effort to protect workers’ rights. Plenty of those fights have played out in Asheville as well as in Raleigh, and will continue to.

How it happened

For many, including in Asheville, the rapid passage of the bill came as a surprise, especially at a time when states like Georgia and South Dakota — hardly liberal strongholds — had rejected anti-LGBT legislation that was generally less far-reaching than HB2.

Usually this came after the measures were the subject of extensive public debate and pressure from both rights groups and businesses against their passage.

But here the special session was called Tuesday, March 22, both houses of the state legislature passed it the next day with little discussion or debate. In the house, 11 Democrats joined with Republicans to pass the bill. In the Senate, the whole Democratic delegation walked out in protest.

To understand how this happened, one has to go back just over five years, to the election of 2010. During that year, the GOP gained majorities in the state legislature thanks to a national wave, a better organized right-wing (thanks to Art Pope and others) and plenty of massive problems with the then-ruling Democrats. This was, after all, a time when former Gov. Mike Easley was facing corruption charges.

Because that was a census year, it allowed the GOP legislators to redraw districts to turn those majorities into super-majorities while making them very hard to shake electorally and removing a lot of incentive to moderate in a state that’s historically been politically contested. In 2012, Pat McCrory won the governor’s race, running as a moderate (on his record as mayor of Charlotte, ironically enough) against a weak Democratic candidate. That, along with the super-majorities, eliminated any check that a governor’s veto might have (the few McCrory has done have been overridden). In this case, the general assembly even called the special session on their own, using an obscure provision of state law, though such a move usually requires the governor’s approval.

Also, in the process, the ruling legislators chucked a lot of the practices around taking input or comment before considering bills. While the Democrats were certainly no strangers to rushing bills through (or to their share of gerrymandering) it’s gone to new lengths during the last four years. All that’s combined to allow the current legislature’s majority to rush extremely right-wing bills through with little or no discussion. Those are facts anyone observing this situation should keep in mind, especially by those who might draw a line between the actions of the legislature and the feelings of the populace.

Notably, 11 Democrats in the state house voted with the Republicans on the bill, despite ardent opposition from others. Local Reps. John Ager and Brian Turner were among those opposed to HB2. Others, including some from WNC, were MIA. Reps. Joe Sam Queen and Susan Fisher both had “excused absences” the day of the vote, Fisher for medical reasons.

Another wrinkle is the long-running fight over labor and local control. The general assembly’s shift farther right in a matter of years didn’t sit well with multiple cities across the state, which were either moderating or moving left due for a number of reasons. From everything to redrawing local election districts in Greensboro and Buncombe County to trying to seize airports and Asheville’s water system, the years of GOP dominance have also been marked by a willingness to overturn local ordinances, rules, and even local election systems.

At the same time, North Carolina is the least unionized state in the country, and as increasing costs of living, the impacts of the recession and stagnant wages have hit hard, pushes for change have increased. Existing social justice movements like Moral Monday (which contained a major economic element alongside pushes for voter rights, racial justice and a number of other causes) have found common cause with union-backed efforts like Raise Up for 15. With a state legislature generally hostile to such movements, some of the focus has shifted to local governments.

That also sets an important piece of the context: the general dislike of local control and the ongoing fights between the legislature and municipal governments combined with more pressure on the labor front. A bill, narrowly stopped last year, would have taken power over a sweeping range of measures — everything from housing to traffic laws — away from local governments entirely.

Before a week was out, the bill was hit with the aforementioned lawsuit. Part of the basis for that suit is Title IX, which the federal government has specifically interpreted to prohibit discrimination against trans people — including the right to use bathrooms matching their gender identity — in educational facilities.

The U.S. Supreme Court has also generally taken a dim view of state laws that specifically target a population. In 1995’s Romer v. Evans,  the court struck down a Colorado law forbidding local ordinances protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination was struck down on the grounds that it violated the constitution’s equal protection clause.

So HB2 is headed to the same place as the voter ID laws, the redrawn districts and numerous fights over the limits of local control: court.

Deferring time

Meanwhile, a political fight over the issue also played out playing out on the local front.

Historically, Asheville’s record on LGBT protections is mixed: compared to other North Carolina cities, Asheville’s government was relatively late on some measures, but led the state on others (like nondiscrimination protections for its workers). In recent years, most of Council has expressed their ardent support for LGBT rights.

However, while the changes to Charlotte’s nondiscrimination ordinance was first proposed in 2014, no candidate in Asheville’s city elections last year proposed enacting a similar measure here, and it wasn’t a topic of debate during those campaigns.

However, after the passage of the Charlotte ordinance, CSE, Equality NC and Tranzmission pushed for Asheville City Council to take a similar step.

But if the groups were hoping for action from Council to follow swiftly, it didn’t happen. Reactions varied among city officials: while some Council members were enthusiastic to proceed, others were hesitant. On March 8, City Attorney Robin Currin told city leaders they didn’t have the power – despite Charlotte’s attorney asserting that N.C. cities could pass such a measure — to issue protections for LGBT residents access to public accommodations. At the Council meeting that night, Manheimer said that there would be no action on the matter, then or in the foreseeable future.

Beach-Ferrara recently won the Democratic primary for the District 1 Buncombe County Commissioner seat and given the lack of any opponent in the general election, is almost certain to take that seat at the end of the year. So the issue will, at one point or another, probably make it before the commissioners as well.

Educational institutions have also responded. Last week, UNCA Chancellor Mary Grant sent out an email statement noting the university was still looking into the full impacts of the bill and noting that “many of you, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni, have shared concerns, fears, and anxiety over the passage of this bill.”

“While we do not know the exact details of the impact this could have on our campus, I want to assure you that we fully support our LGBTQ community,” Grant wrote. “We will continue to work to ensure that all students, faculty, staff, and visitors to our campus are treated with dignity and equity.”

Warren Wilson President Steven Solnick noted in a statement that as a private college, they were unaffected by the measure and would “remain committed to the dignity of every person.”

Meanwhile, some North Carolina municipalities moved swiftly to condemn the new law. Carrboro’s Town Council called a special session of their own Saturday, calling for HB2’s repeal and committing the local government to protecting LGBT rights. Chapel Hill followed suit yesterday.

So far, however, no such response has come from City Hall, though Manheimer and Council member Keith Young both attended the anti-HB2 rally. Yesterday, the Blade asked city staff if the city of Asheville had — or was planning to release — a statement on HB2, especially how it affected the city’s existing ordinances. A spokesperson referred us to the March 9 statement refusing to take action on Charlotte-style LGBT protections.

That, however, dealt with an entirely different matter: action or lack of action on a possible local ordinance proposed by members of the public. HB2 is a state law affecting, among other things, local ordinances and facilities. We asked about that difference, and for further clarification. This morning, the Blade sent several more specific questions about HB2’s effect on access to city facilities and on Asheville’s existing nondiscrimination and living wage ordinances. This morning, received a reply that city staff were looking into these questions.

This afternoon, the city issued the following statement from Manheimer:

‘In light of the passage of HB2, it is important for the City of Asheville to reiterate our core values of embracing diversity and equal opportunity — captured in the recently adopted vision statement by the Asheville City Council.’

‘Asheville is a welcoming city that thrives on diversity and equality. We take pride in our unique character and openness to all, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, familial status or disability. As our legal staff works to better understand HB2, the effects will not change our commitment to these values. Asheville will continue to be a place where we can be proud to live, work and raise families in a community that celebrates our differences.

‘On April 12, Asheville City Council will consider a resolution regarding the passage of HB2.’

‘Worth fighting for’

At the rally, local NAACP President Carmen Ramos-Kennedy targeted the bill’s costs while the general assembly, she said, ignored deaths that could be prevented by expanding Medicaid and the “tens of thousands of voters that have been disenfranchised” by the state’s voter restrictions and shoddy administration.

“Hundreds of thousands of working poor North Carolinians are locked into poverty by a minimum wage that doesn’t allow them to feed their families,” she said, but those matters weren’t deserving of a special session.”

Ramos-Kennedy also targeted the bill’s labor provisions and asserted that the state and local NAACP demanded “equal protection for all in our community. Any bill that undermines the constitutional rights of one person undermines the rights of all.”

State Sen. Terry Van Duyn, who walked out along with the rest of her party, said she’d received an outpouring of opposition to the bill from the public and was at the rally to declare that “we will work together until we get rid of this bill. It will not stand.”

Brynn Estelle, a local trans woman, student and artist, spoke ardently against the bill, specifically its effects on the city’s trans population.

“There’s a reason they didn’t want voters to see it,” Estelle said. “The murder rate of trans women in this country, a statistic made up overwhelmingly by the names and lives of women of color, is not decreasing. It is not on the decline.”

The recorded numbers, Estelle noted, had risen from 13 to 22 last year, “the real numbers are undoubtedly much higher, and the numbers we do have reflect only homicides, not suicides. We do know that nearly half of transgender folks in this country have reported attempting suicide. All taken together, these are plainly genocide numbers.”

Those problems, Estelle continued, were only furthered by the local candidates that had “encouraged violence against trans women in bathrooms” and painted them as predators.

One in 300 Americans are transgender, Estelle continued, so “even if you do not fall within that particular demographic, chances are you’ve probably relieved yourself in the stall next to one of us and escaped without incident. Think about that.”

Despite its unconstitutional nature, she continued, the real point of HB2 was to send a message.

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