North Carolina lawmakers voted last week to repeal House Bill 2, a controversial law impacting LGBTQ, especially transgender, individuals living in the state. Critics of the bill’s replacement, House Bill 142, said that it continues the same discriminatory practices of HB2. Some referred to it as “HB2.0.”
In the aftermath of the HB2 repeal, many looked to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for a response. The NCAA helped push lawmakers to repeal HB2 when the association announced in mid-March that it would not consider bids for championship events in the state until 2022 unless the state modified or repealed HB2. In response, state lawmakers quickly drafted HB 142 and hustled it through to the governor’s desk.
Although civil rights groups immediately called on the NCAA to reject HB 142, the new law appears to have met with the NCAA’s approval. A news release the association sent out on Tuesday morning stated that “a majority on the NCAA Board of Governors reluctantly voted to allow consideration of championship bids in North Carolina.” Cities in North Carolina currently have 133 bids to host NCAA events from 2018 to 2022.
Civil rights organization spoke out on Tuesday to criticize the NCAA for what they see as backtracking on the association’s stance on LGBTQ and transgender protections.
“Today, the NCAA told the LGBT community that they aren’t a priority,” Hudson Taylor, founder and executive director of Athlete Ally, commented. “This decision sets a precedent that LGBT discrimination is acceptable to the NCAA and that states and cities that do not protect and respect their LGBT constituents will still benefit from hosting NCAA events.”
HB2 was crafted a year ago in response to an ordinance passed by the City of Charlotte, which protected LGBT individuals from discrimination and the right of individuals to use public accommodations and bathrooms based on their gender identity — not the gender on their birth certificate. With the ordinance, Charlotte joined the ranks of well over 100 other municipalities and 19 states across the country that offer similar protections.
With HB2, North Carolina lawmakers overruled nondiscrimination ordinances at the local level and required anyone using public facilities and restrooms in government buildings to use facilities that correspond with the gender on their birth certificate. The law extended to the state’s public colleges and universities.
