Whither North Carolina?

I sit here shaking my head over the “logic” behind North Carolina’s bathroom law, otherwise known as HB2. You know, the one that requires transgenders to use public bathrooms that correspond to their birth genders. Gov. Pat McCrory doesn’t approve of local gay rights laws, calling them “local government overreach.” So, in his “wisdom” he decided that it was time to call out just which groups he feels deserve protection against discrimination in his state.

In Garrett Epps’ May 10, 2016 article in The Atlantic, “North Carolina’s Bathroom Bill Is a Constitutional Monstrosity”, Epps states (I believe correctly) that HB2’s true intention is to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. It prevents localities from protecting any groups not specifically covered in HB2. LGBTs (and veterans!) are excluded from the list.

I am no scholar, but isn’t Gov. McCrory violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964? I invite you to read Epps’ article for a more thorough analysis of this awful law, currently the topic of dueling lawsuits brought by the North Carolina and U.S. governments against each other.

North Carolina is strikingly beautiful. I love its heavily wooded mountains. I’d love to visit Asheville one day. But McCrory deeply disappoints me. Unless he halts his crusade to turn North Carolina into a haven for bigotry, I will do my best to avoid anything to do with the state.