Republican lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly have introduced a lot of bills that affect the LGBTQ community.
WFAE's Julian Berger joined Nick de la Canal to discuss these bills and how the Charlotte community is responding.
Berger gives a summary of the bills that have been filed, beginning with Senate Bill 442, known as the Parents Protection Act. Introduced on March 24, the bill would permit adoptive and foster parents to decline recognition of a child’s preferred gender identity. Additionally, it would shield parents from investigations into abuse and neglect in such cases.
Julian Berger: Senate Bill 516, the Women’s Safety and Protection Act, was introduced the next day. It would restrict transgender people from using public restrooms that don’t correspond to their biological sex. It also would not allow transgender people to change the gender on their birth certificate, and driver’s licenses would only reflect one’s biological sex at birth.
And House Bill 595, the Parental Rights for Curriculum and Books, was introduced on March 31. It is an extension of North Carolina’s so-called “don’t say gay" bill, Senate Bill 49, which prohibits discussion of gender identity and sexuality in kindergarten to fourth grade and requires schools to allow parents to review textbooks and educational materials. It also requires schools to contact parents about changes to their child’s name or pronouns. This new bill would add more restrictions to sexual health curriculums, make library employees liable for — and I’m quoting here — “Disseminating harmful material to minors,” and prohibit gender identity and sexuality discussion through the sixth grade.
De la Canal: SB 516, in particular, is a new rendition of HB2, which I’m sure many remember from nearly 10 years ago. How is it similar?
Berger: Well, House Bill 2 was repealed five years ago, but it made national headlines in 2016 and led to widespread boycotts and economic losses for North Carolina. SB 516 revives many of those same restrictions, focusing more narrowly on public facilities.
De la Canal: And are these bills a part of a national trend across other states?
Berger: Yes, other states like Florida, Montana, Utah and Wyoming ban transgender people from using bathrooms not relating to their biological sex at birth. And "don’t say gay" bills have passed in other states like Florida — which is where it started in 2022 — Arkansas, Iowa and Indiana.
De la Canal: How are local LGBTQ nonprofits responding?
Berger: Time Out Youth in east Charlotte released a statement last week, saying that these bills will erase the identities, dignity and rights of queer and trans young people. The center went on to say these bills threaten supportive environments like schools, shelters and foster care. Here’s Time Out Youth’s CEO Sarah Mikhail:
Mikhail: “The message is clear. Not only do you not belong here, not only are we not going to help you belong here, we're going to do what we can to make sure you really know you don’t belong here.”
Berger: Mikhail also said in our conversation that these bills, especially transgender-related ones, only target a small population of the community.
Mikhail: “Less than 1% of our population ... So the fact that there are so many bills being put on the floor to attack such a small number says to me that it's a part of a much larger commentary.”
De la Canal: And what are they doing to combat these bills?
Berger: Time Out Youth has seen 61 new young people within the past two months, and they have two therapists in-house that have a 30-person caseload each. The center is also hosting numerous drop-in spaces to speak about how queer youth are feeling during this time. This Friday, the center will host a legal clinic to help trans youth navigate name and pronoun changes on documents like driver’s licenses and birth certificates.
De la Canal: Are any of the bills moving forward in the General Assembly?
Berger: None of the bills have passed as of now, and they’re still in various committees in the House and Senate. Gov. Josh Stein seems likely to veto them if they do come to his desk, but moderate Democrats could side with Republicans and override his veto.
