First there was the City of Charlotte passing a city ordinance that somehow allowed men into women's restrooms. Now I'll admit that seemed odd but how could that have happened? Aren't there laws against such things in North Carolina?
Not according to the National Conference of State Legislatures as of March 13, 2015:
"Five states—Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas—do not have a public accommodation law for nondisabled individuals. All states with a public accommodation law prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, ancestry and religion. In addition, 18 jurisdictions prohibit discrimination based on marital status, 22 prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and 18 prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. Nineteen jurisdictions also prohibit age-based discrimination in areas of public accommodation."
You see, unlike most states, North Carolina' Public Accommodation Laws as covered under NC Gen Stat § 168A-6 don't mention gender. It's just not there. And you'll not be able to find it under any other existing State law. We're just backwards like that.
As a matter of fact, NC law expressly prohibited cities from passing laws that broke state laws. If Charlotte was really overstepping their bounds then all the State Legislature needed to do to stop Charlotte was mail them a cease and deist order. And if the Charlotte City Council then refused they could have the Charlotte City Council thrown in jail. Simple fix, ask any lawyer.
From the NC League of Municipalities:
" In this state, municipalities do not have home rule, which means that the state legislature must grant the powers and authority to municipalities and authorize them to perform certain functions."
Charlotte did not overstep its bounds in passing their ordinance, Charlotte simply found a loophole in that the State of North Carolina had and still has no enforceable laws prohibiting men from women's restrooms. You know, just like Conservatives, Libertarians and even some Liberals love finding loopholes that allow them to pay less taxes. Like it or not the State of North Carolina has never prohibited such behavior. That's fact.
Now before we go any farther please allow me to explain: I'm not pushing any sort of liberal, gay, trans, pervert agenda. I'm talking about what is and isn't truth. The State of North Carolina is having a problem because the conservative leadership in Raleigh has been lying to its supporters all along about what is and isn't the truth. You have a right to your opinion as to what is and isn't morally correct. You also have the right to expect your leaders to tell you the truth. The moral high ground cannot be claimed when its seizure is based upon lies.
And taking up for conservative leaders just because you believe men in the women's rooms is morally wrong doesn't make it okay for you to continue to allow them to get away with their lies. Doing so helps them to continue their lies and doesn't get you what you want.
Prior to the passing of the Charlotte ordinance there was no law in North Carolina making it illegal for men to go into women's restrooms. And after the passing of HB2, despite what they would like you to think there is still no law to stop it from happening.
Need more proof: Keep reading.
You see, Charlotte never overstepped its legal authority because there was no such law in the first place. That much I've proved.
Now you are welcome to your opinions but I deal in facts. And I document the hell out of them. The links you see here are not advertising, they are links to documents and news reports.
Liberals, progressives, gays, trans and perverted people didn't do this. That is, unless you consider your political leaders to be perverts. Your Conservative leaders in Raleigh chose to pass HB2, a lie, a bill that included zero criminal penalties for crossing what has long been traditional gender boundaries when it comes to who belongs in which restroom.
And they knew it all along.
ECU professor Carmine Scavo pointed out:
"Dr. Scavo said, “I don’t think at the time that they passed it that they ever thought they were going to have to defend it or enforce it.” Dr. Scavo added that the legislature passed the law to make a statement. He said lawmakers knew it couldn’t be enforced.
9 On Your Side asked one representative from the area about enforcing HB2 and he said Dr. Scavo isn’t far off.
“I think it was one to either send a symbolic statement or a real statement across the state that this is an expected modicum of behavior for people in bathrooms, bath houses, locker rooms,” NC House District 9 Representative Dr. Gregory Murphy said.
9 On Your Side asked law enforcement agencies how they plan to enforce HB2 and most of them said the topic hasn’t even come up.
People in the area said a law with no enforcement is pointless."
Go back and read the 3rd paragraph of that last quote. I would think that North Carolina Conservatives would be angered to no end that all the evidence shows that they have been lied to by their very own Conservative leaders but still they back them-- why?
Who is Representative Gregory F. Murphy, MD? A Republican, from a very conservative district-- that's who.
Still don't believe me? In the post Is It Illegal for a Man to Use the Ladies’ Room? the NC School of Law was unable to point out one single state law prohibiting men in women's restrooms back in May of 2015.
Funny, the issue came up a year before, they knew there was no law against it but Conservatives in Raleigh did nothing about it. That's a fact they'd rather you not remember.
But what about indecent exposure you ask. Well, for starters you are assuming the man exposes himself. What if he goes into the restroom and doesn't expose himself? What if he goes into the women's restroom simply because the men's room was a filthy, disgusting mess he didn't dare use? Most normal men don't make it a habit of exposing themselves to other men in public restrooms. Here what NC § 14-190.9. Indecent exposure has to say about the matter:
"(a5) Unless the conduct is prohibited by another law providing greater punishment, any person located in a private place who shall willfully expose the private parts of his or her person with the knowing intent to be seen by a person in a public place shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor."
Key words: "... who shall willfully expose the private parts of his or her person with the knowing intent to be seen by a person in a public place..."
You see, intent is a very big part of North Carolina law. Same goes for peeping so don't bother to bring it up.
Then there's this from WRAL:
"The three main groups backing House Bill 2 have told North Carolina House members to ignore a pledge they had asked legislators to sign promising not to repeal any parts of the law.
The Keep N.C. Safe Coalition, made up of three conservative religious organizations – Tami Fitzgerald’s N.C. Values Coalition, Mark Creech’s Christian Action League and John Rustin’s Family Policy Council – sent an email to House members Wednesday with the subject line, “Please DISREGARD H.B. 2 Pledge.”
Somebody has something to hide. What I don't know. Hat tip: Fec.
And to add insult to injury, we now learn from the NC School of Government that North Carolina cities can now be sued under Federal laws for complying with NC HB2:
"That is because the law of sex discrimination under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, as interpreted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and to some extent by the courts, is moving to protect individuals from discrimination on account of sexual orientation, gender expression, or gender identity. This development of the law is ongoing and uncertain. It is not possible at this point to say that an employer’s refusal to allow an employee to use a bathroom other than that of the employee’s “biological sex” is a violation of Title VII, but it is extremely likely that test cases will be sought. Where the law will go cannot now be fully predicted. It is possible to imagine a time, however, when the state-law HB 2 bathroom restrictions are unenforceable as unlawful under expanded federal-law protections."
Now what I find most disturbing is that with an entire law school on the State payroll, not one single member of the North Carolina House, Senate or the Governor's office bothered to ask them before passing this stupid law that doesn't keep men out of women's restrooms but does open our cities up to being sued.
Finally, here's the thing: now that I have proven there has never been a State law in North Carolina prohibiting men from entering women's restrooms it's time North Carolina Conservatives stopped with all the BS opinion, finger pointing, liberal blaming, and gay bashing, and asked yourself this question: Does North Carolina need a law prohibiting men in women's restrooms?
And if you believe the answer is yes then you, as Conservatives, need to get off your sorry asses, and demand your elected leaders in Raleigh pass such a law with real criminal penalties while you still have Republicans in control of all 3 branches of NC government.
Otherwise you lose again.
