The Carrboro and Chapel Hill Town Councils approved new ordinances last month that will help protect the LGTBQ community from being discriminated against in the workplace and denied services in places of public accommodation.
Hillsborough was the first town in North Carolina to adopt LGBTQ protections, and Carrboro and Chapel Hill quickly followed.
Junior Grace Davis, president of the Queer Straight Alliance (QSA), views the new ordinances in an optimistic light.
“I think these ordinances are a great sign of progression and show that these towns are ready to include LGTBQ people and prevent discrimination against them,” Davis said. “The cities that have passed them did so quickly and effectively, showing their support in a way that will help the community.”
The new ordinances prohibit discrimination based upon sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression in public places, such as hotels and restaurants, and the workplace.
The demand for more protection for the LGBTQ community arose in December when a state law referred to as House Bill 142 (HB 142) expired. HB 142 effectively prevented local governments from enacting anti-discrimination legislation.
HB 142 was passed in 2017 as a replacement of House Bill 2, infamously known as the “bathroom bill,” which put North Carolina in the national spotlight for denying transgender people the right to use the bathroom that matched their gender identity.
Danie Reinholz, the faculty advisor for the QSA, said the new protections are a step in the right direction, but believes the legacy of the state’s discriminatory legislation runs deep.
“I think it’s a first step in attempting to insure protections of LGBTQ community,” Reinholz said. “It’s still too early in the process to tell if these additional resources will help in a meaningful way via enforcement and implementation. Historically, [the state’s] campaigns of discrimination and propaganda have had a lasting impact on queer communities at large and have largely done well in North Carolina at villainizing trans and gay folks.”
Davis agreed that there are a number of initiatives local governments can take to ensure safeguards and equality for LGBTQ citizens.
“There is still more the town can do for the LGTBQ community, such as having an established LGTBQ center, like those in Raleigh and Durham, with an accessible building that has resources and support readily available,” Davis said.
