UNC Folds on “Bathroom Law”

Facing losing over $1 billion in Federal Research Grants…UNC President reverses course.

University Of North Carolina Won’t Enforce Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill

The UNC system president wrote in a court filing that she had “no intent” to enforce the new law.

The University of North Carolina system will not enforce a state law that mandates people use the bathroom that corresponds to the sex on their birth certificate, UNC System President Margaret Spellings told a federal court Friday.

“I have no intent to exercise my authority to promulgate any guidelines or regulations that require transgender students to use the restrooms consistent with their biological sex,” Spellings wrote in an affidavit filed as part of a motion to halt civil legal proceedings against the university system, The Associated Press reported.

Spellings has avoided giving her personal opinion on House Bill 2, also known as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, which passed in March.

And though she sent out a memo in April advising campuses to follow the law, her memo hinted that she had no clue how to actually enforce it. UNC lawyers suggested the same thing in a court filing, writing that the system has not “changed any of its policies or practices regarding transgender students or employees” and that HB2 doesn’t provide any guidance on enforcement.

Multiple plaintiffs are taking the UNC system to court in response to HB2, saying it’s discriminatory. The law states that when it comes to multiple-occupancy bathrooms in government buildings or public schools and colleges, everyone must use the restroom corresponding with the sex indicated on their birth certificate. In other words, a person who was assigned female at birth and now identifies as a man would still have to use the women’s bathroom.

The law also removed legal anti-discrimination protection for LGBTQ people.

The UNC system is asking the court to postpone the civil case, pending the outcome of a separate case in Virginia involving a teen suing a county school board over a policy barring him from using the boys’ bathroom.

 

Chris Wallace Hammers Republican NC Governor Pat McCrory on “Bathroom Law”

The Feds are turning up the heat…First the letter from the DOJ, the the Department of Transportation pulling federal road funds, and the Department of Education pulling Federal Grants to Public Colleges and Universities…

Further McCrory cannot cite a single case where a Trans individual has sexually molested anyone in the state of North Carolina for the past 5 years, covering his Governorship. McCrory tries to deflect by claiming the Democrats did something in Houston…Governor, last I checked – Houston ain’t in the State of North Carolina.

 

Hitting the NC Bigots Where it Hurts, NCAA May Pull Basketball Tournament

Non conversation about College Basketball is complete without the mention of two of the sports powerhouses, University of North Carolina, and Duke University. One of the reasons I am an ACC Fan, besides being an Alumni of a ACC School, is their go anywhere, beat you like a dime store guitar attitude, risking early season losses by playing against schools from the other majors like the Big East and the Big Ten – and one or more teams making the trek to Rupp Arena to take on SEC Powerhouse Kentucky. Something perennial sports writer favorites in the Big 12, and some pother leagues don’t do, usually resulting in being overrated and an early exit at the season ending tournament.

Tobacco Row is about Basketball. And, in recognition of the huge fan interest in North Carolina, the NCAA regularly schedules one of their regional competitions there, garnering several hundred million dollars for businesses in the State.

The effect of the NCAA effectively pulling their tournament out of the state could, in conjunction with private corporations pulling out operations, or events in the state, push the damages done to the state economy by the sanctimonious NC Republican bigot brigade over $1 billion and counting…This is hurting the state, which has a thriving high tech industry based around the Universities, as well as having become a major banking and insurance company haven – and those companies ability to attract highly qualified LGBT or straight people, who don’t want to live and work in a right wing theocracy where bigotry is legalized.

Did an article earlier abut the CBC. Why exactly aren’t they proposing a bill to cut off federal funding in states which pass this type of laws?

NCAA Joins The Fight Against North Carolina’s ‘Bathroom Law’

Now, we can only hope that “lawmakers are listening.”

Citing the need to maintain a “safe, healthy” atmosphere for both the players and the public, the NCAA doubled down on its anti-discrimination stance on Wednesday, approving a new decree mandating that all sites that hope to host NCAA events “demonstrate how they will provide an environment … free of discrimination.”

“The higher education community is a diverse mix of people from different racial, ethnic, religious and sexual orientation backgrounds,” chair of the NCAA Board of Governors Kirk Schulz stated. “So it is important that we assure that community— including our student-athletes and fans — will always enjoy the experience of competing and watching at NCAA championships without concerns of discrimination.”

The decision comes in the aftermath of the highly controversial Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act (HB2), which, among other discriminatory measures, forces transgender people to use the bathroom that accords with the “biological sex” on their birth certificate, not the restroom that matches the gender with which they identify.

The law directly affects public schools, thus ensnarling the NCAA in the debate.

Home to two perennial hoops powerhouses, the state of North Carolina is a common host for the annual men’s NCAA tournament. And while Greensboro was slated to hold opening round games next year, the site will now have to indicate how exactly its arena plans to “protect[] against discrimination” and ensure that all present will be “treated with fairness and respect” before the NCAA sets up shop come March 2017.

“The NCAA has sent a very clear message that unfair and unjust discrimination against LGBT people will not be tolerated by the association, and we hope lawmakers are listening,” Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin stated Thursday in response to the association’s decision. “We commend the NCAA Board of Governors for taking this critically important stand in favor of fairness and equality.”

This latest mandate falls in line with other, similar anti-discrimination postures the NCAA has taken in the past. For example, schools cannot host championship events if their “nicknames use Native American imagery that is considered abusive and offensive,” while predetermined neutral sites cannot host championship eventsif their respective state governments “display the Confederate battle flag.”

North Carolina prides itself on its long legacy of dominance on the hardwood. Let’s hope that the Association’s stand helps the state and its elected officials realize the importance of reversing HB2.