CHARLOTTE, NC — The ACC will reconsider hosting championships in North Carolina after the repeal of House Bill Two. The ACC basketball tournament could come to Charlotte as early as 2019.
CHARLOTTE, NC — The ACC will reconsider hosting championships in North Carolina after the repeal of House Bill Two.The ACC basketball tournament could come to Charlotte as early as 2019.While this bill may be enough for sports organizations, members of the LGBT community expect to plan protests.It’s a deal Lara Americo calls painful.“It’s painful to have sports being prioritized over the lives of people like me,” said Americo.Americo is a transgender activist who rallied in Raleigh to stop House Bill 142. It’s the compromise bill designed to bring business back to North Carolina. It repeals House Bill Two, no longer dictating which bathroom people who are transgender can use.“At the same time, there’s no affirmative protection for folks that are using the bathroom,” said Kevin Murphy.Murphy is an employment attorney at Van Kampen Law, PC.He says the new law means local governments can’t regulate private businesses or public accommodations until 2020.So, Charlotte cannot add LGBT rights to a non-discrimination ordinance for four years, enough time to let court cases play out.“We needed a clean repeal of HB2 without moratoriums,” said Americo. “We needed our cities to have the ability to govern for themselves.”Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts supported the City Council’s move in Feb. 2016 to add com the LGBT community to the non- discrimination ordinance.Prompting lawmakers to come up with HB2.“I think it was not a full repeal, and it continues to have lgbt comm be second class citizens,” said Mayor Roberts.The employment attorney stresses: don’t give up if you’re discriminated against.“Federal law says you may not discriminate against someone based on their sex,” said Murphy. “That has been interpreted by many courts to mean sexual orientation.”Americo sends a message to companies considering coming back to North Carolina: It’s not a bathroom issue, it’s a equal rights issue.“All transgender people want is to live a normal life,” said Americo.Murphy also pointed out HB2 only gave you one year to sue an employer for discrimination.This new law brings that back up to three yearsBy: Courtney Francisco