Turns out the author of North Carolina’s anti-trans bill compared LGBT people to the Taliban
There is new evidence that the lead author of North Carolina’s anti-trans HB2, had compared supporters of LGBT equality to the Taliban.
According to the Charlotte Business Journal, Representative Dan Bishop compared LGBT people to Taliban in a number of email exchanges.
This runs contrary to assertions by Governor Pat McCrory and other pro-HB2 voices, who have denied that it intends to discriminate against the LGBT community.
Bishop wrote in one email, of the bill: “Business skittishness is entirely the result of false media reports and activist grip on big corporations.”
In another exchange, a constituent urged Bishop to not “cave in to the Politically Correct Taliban! Y’all should have all of the sane states to coordinate and pass these bills on the same day so one state does not have to stand up to these pompous asses alone.”
RELATED: What is North Carolina’s bathroom bill? And other questions about the anti-transgender HB2
Responding, Bishop said: “I LOVE that idea. Taliban. Love that too. Not giving up. Ever.” A separate exchange with another supporter included a declaration by the lawmaker that “the LGBT movement jeopardises freedom.”
Others, including McCrory and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, have declined to release their communications around HB2.
The bill was passed in a specially called session of the House and Senate in response to an ordinance in the city of Charlotte, which allowed trans students to use gender-appropriate bathrooms.
The Human Rights Campaign said it suspected the communications were “the tip of the iceberg”.
The HRC and Equality NC said McCrory, Berger and Moore should now release their records in compliance with the law.
“Rep. Bishop’s deep-seated hatred towards LGBTQ North Carolinians has blinded him to reality, so much so that he is is comparing people who support basic fairness and equality for LGBTQ people to the Taliban,” said JoDee Winterhof, HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs.
“These documents are just the tip of the iceberg, and clearly demonstrate that the core goal of this legislation was to discriminate and attack the LGBTQ community. It’s unacceptable that McCrory, Berger, and Moore continue to evade their obligation to transparency, and it seems obvious that they are doing so to avoid the public seeing the despicable nature and motivation of this legislation.”
“As someone who grew up in Rep. Bishop’s district, it’s deeply disturbing to see such blatant animosity from someone who is supposed to represent all constituents in his district, including LGBTQ people,” said Matt Hirschy, Director of Advancement at Equality NC.
“Based on these outrageous exchanges, it seems clear that pulling back the curtain on legislators’ true intent will reveal the despicable nature and motivation of this legislation. North Carolinians deserve to know what really motivated Gov. McCrory, Senator Berger, and Speaker Moore to ram through this disastrous legislation. They should immediately release their communications with anti-LGBTQ activists in their plot to pass HB2 into law.”
The University of North Carolina last month told a federal court that it will disobey the anti-LGBT HB2, and that trans people can use whichever bathroom they choose on its campuses.
The US Justice Department sued the state of North Carolina last month, asking a federal court to rule that the state’s anti-trans HB2 law violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The Department said the state should stop enforcing HB2.
The Attorney General Loretta Lynch also threatened to withhold federal funding to the University of North Carolina system, which could be as much as $4.8 billion.
In response, Governor McCrory filed his own desperate lawsuit against the federal government.
In it, he named Ms Lynch, the head of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, Vanita Gupta and the Justice Department.
“We’re taking the Obama admin to court,” he wrote.
“They’re bypassing Congress, attempting to rewrite law & policies for the whole country, not just NC.
“Our lawsuit seeks to ensure that NC continues to receive federal funding until the courts clarify federal law & resolve this national issue.”
