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Facebook, New York Times Latest Heavy Hitters to Blast North Carolina

Facebook, New York Times Latest Heavy Hitters to Blast North Carolina

NC

The social media giant and the newspaper of record strongly condemned North Carolina's anti-LGBT legislation.

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The New York Times editorial board -- along with several influential corporations, including Facebook -- has joined the chorus of voices against North Carolina's House Bill 2, which targets transgender people and rescinds LGBT protections statewide.

The Times editorial -- titled "Transgender Law Makes North Carolina Pioneer in Bigotry" -- referred to the recent legislation as "appalling," saying it made a vulnerable group even more at risk of "violence and stigmatization."

Introduced, passed by both chambers of the legislature, and signed Wednesday by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, HB 2 bars transgender people from using public restrooms and other sex-segregated facilities that correspond with their gender identity as well as makes it impossible for any North Carolina municipality to enact discrimination protections for LGBT people.

The bill was a response to Charlotte passing a now-gutted nondiscrimination ordinance that, among other things, allowed transgender people to use the restroom that matches their authentic gender. Anti-LGBT forces presented the Charlotte ordinance as one enabling sexual predators to attack women in bathrooms -- something the Times finds despicable, and which is patently, provably false. The Times editorial states:

"Proponents of so-called bathroom bills, which have been introduced in state legislatures across the country, have peddled them by spuriously portraying transgender women as potential rapists. That threat exists only in the imagination of bigots. Supporters of the measures have been unable to point to a single case that justifies the need to legislate where people should be allowed to use the toilet. North Carolina is the first state to pass such a provision."

The newspaper said McCrory's signing of the bill was a cynical political ploy and urged voters to oust him from office.

Meanwhile, businesses continue to pile on the HB 2 hate. Already Dow Chemical, PayPal, Apple, and American Airlines have condemned the bill, and now IBM, Lowe's, the NBA, Bank of America, and Wake Forest University have joined the fray. Facebook, which operates a data center in Forest City, N.C., released the following statement Thursday night:

Facebook's statement on HB 2, which was signed into law on Wednesday:"We are disappointed by the recent events in North...

Posted by Forest City Data Center on Thursday, March 24, 2016
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Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.
Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.