@Highbury : that’s awesome.
The triangle is like a different world. It should just break off and become its own state or merge with Virginia or something. Having said that, NC has always been a beacon of liberalism and tolerance. It’s sad to see this happen to a state that is the jewel of the south. The worst part of it is that NC is probably home to more liberals than conservatives. The Republican legislature has rigged the system. NC is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. Draconian laws are preventing minorities from voting. If the elections were free and fair, NC would probably resemble a much more liberal state.
I get the sense that people who support these bills equate transgendered people with cross dressers. To them this law will stop a man from wearing a dress and going into the women’s restroom where he will wait to molest women and children.
I believe the law does the exact opposite. A trans man identified at birth as female might now have a beard and appear to be a man at the stage of his transition and this law requires him to use the women’s bathroom.
Moral Mondays has been protesting in NC since 2013 but the state has only continued to pass appalling legislation after appalling legislation.
This is ripe for the theater of the absurd. They should send in a steady stream of very masculine transgendered former females into the womens room in the state house. Have them do things like shave or otherwise objectionable male activities in the women’s room. And then a steady steam of hot looking former men into the men’s room doing things like putting on makup and adjusting their clothes in there.
Regarding NC requirements to vote, a US passport qualifies.
Excellent point @tom1944 and @NoVADad99 . The law reveals not only the NC leaders’ moral bankruptcy, but also their complete and utter ignorance about LGBT.
@AboutTheSame There have been cases of people being turned away, even when they have the proper ID. If the poll worker isn’t familiar with what a passport looks like, the voter might be denied their right to vote. Take a look some of the things which happened in the first big election after the first big wave of voter ID laws; it’s terrifying:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/11/voter-supression-id-election-day-virginia-texas
Some day SCOTUS will call voter ID what it is: the 21st century poll tax.
Having just renewed my family’s passports, it’s not a low cost ID option.
I didn’t read the entire six pages of this thread, so forgive me if this was already addressed: How would anyone even know that an individual is transgendered? How would the users of a women’s restroom know that the transgendered woman standing next to them has XY chromosomes? Are people going to be required to submit a notarized karyotype?
Brantly, I guess each bathroom patron gets to decide for themselves and take appropriate action. What could possibly go wrong, eh?
But it doesn’t matter because this is a law which deals with a non existent problem. The whole point of the law is to inflame the base.
Here’s an article on some of the blowback MS is receiving. Some of the mocking they’re getting is pretty hilarious. “Entering Mississippi. Please Turn Your Clocks Back 200 Years.” And: “we have oppressive laws to go with our oppressive heat” :))
http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/07/us/mississippi-tourism-religious-freedom-bill-backlash/index.html
The issue is triple:
1° there’s a risk for transgendered people (The Daily Show interviewed a woman who was held in jail eight DAYS for trying to get the key to the hotel room she’d booked on account that being trans is “threatening” to patrons and that her ID indicated she’d be born male. And no, it wasn’t a joke. About half transgender people have ended up in jail due to this kind of laws, having done absolutely nothing except walk, ask for a room, enter a bathroom, etc.)
2° the university will be penalized by the legislature if it doesn’t try to enforce it. The current legislature is itching to do that.
3° kids in university housing - universities can’t have gender neutral housing apparently - so you could have a freshman girl in an all-male dorm, for instance.
And of course, there’s the offensive symbol of legally authorizing discrimination, which of course encourages it.
@LasMa : Understood. I was just noting as a possible solution for an out-of-state student not wanting to get a North Carolina driver’s license. The absentee voter option noted earlier in this thread (page 5, I think) also looks like a viable option.
Re: Voting, I’m not going to let D risk it with a passport. I’m going to figure out how she can get a NC driver license so there are absolutely no questions on election day. I especially don’t trust provisional ballots.
I wish there was a more progressive option for her at this point, but this is her #1 choice far and above the others she applied to. UNCSA is one of the tops for her field: Theater Design & Production.
It is heartening to read about the protests and backlash. I hope the lawsuits move through the courts quickly, are successful in repealing this heinous law, and set a national precedent for anti-discrimination against LGBT folks.
Just as a note: it is trans or transgender NOT transgenderED. Trans or transgender is either an adjective or noun, not a verb. You wouldn’t refer to a person as “whited” (for example).
And yes, this is a big deal to trans individuals.
Good, craspedia. But also remember that ID is only one of the hurdles which the wrong kind of voters may have to negotiate. Let your D know that she should be prepared for the possibilty of a very long wait, maybe hours.
I’ll look into early in-person voting as well. They may have it, even if it’s at one office in downtown Winston-Salem. I also am not too keen on absentee ballots. Though, sending in an absentee ballot may be better than risking it on election day. I am so wary of election shenanigans.