Thank goodness for North Carolina. The Tarheel State’s lawmakers are now taking the national heat that scorched Indiana in 2015 when the state Legislature passed a Religious Freedom Restoration Act that was seen for what it was, a disciminatory affront to LGBT people.
Indiana lawmakers made some adjustments to that act and lowered the heat a bit. What our state leaders should learn, though, is that continued actions that makes it seem that Indiana treats certain citizens as less worthy of rights than others can have serious consequences.
North Carolina is learning that. Because of a state law considered discriminatory against transgender people, the NCAA has pulled seven championship, including men’s basketball games that were to be played on the first weekend of the national tournament. The NCAA noted the decision stemmed from “the cumulative actions taken by the state concerning civil rights protections.” The tipping point was a law known as HB2, which requires transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to the gender on their birth certificates. North Carolina also excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from local and statewide civil rights protections.
Besides the men’s basketball games scheduled in Greensboro for March 17 and 19, events involving Division I women’s soccer, Division I women’s golf, Division I women’s lacrosse, Division III men’s and women’s soccer, Division III men’s and women’s tennis, and Division II baseball will be moved from North Carolina to other states.
The NCAA’s Monday announcement adds to another big sports loss for North Carolina — the 2017 NBA All-Star team was moved from Charlotte to New Orleans because of legislative action.
The NCAA has made it known that future host cities must comply with anti-discrimination policies of the organization.
Indianapolis hosts large many NCAA events, and Evansville, Fort Wayne, South Bend and Bloomington are among other Hoosier cities that have been or would be logical choices as host sites.
Hopefully, our legislators and governor are paying attention to the problems in North Carolina. Hopefully, they will begin to understand that equality in civil rights should be afforded everyone.