….I know this is kind of an interesting heading but it seems that is what is “catching” one’s eyes and interests these days.
I, like many of you, have been intrigued, interested, disturbed, maybe outraged, confused and on the list can go over this recent piece of North Carolina legislation – aka, HB2. I must admit it does sound like a disease but I will just leave that thought alone for now.
As I have learned from some life experiences, I typically do not speak out on matters that I have little to no knowledge but using public facilities is something I have experienced.. When this piece of “law” was enacted, I began to ask and seek information on what does this really mean for me – I am a heterosexual individual and what will this mean to me when I go into a public restroom. Furthermore, with all the other things that our state needs to be addressing, how did we get a “called session” to be focused on who is using a bathroom? Not to mention, I began to look for my birth certificate to see if I could reduce it to fit in my wallet – no lie!!!! Isn’t that what you did too? However, in the midst of all of this, I have sought and found the actual bill and read it – have you?
I have also been forced to dig deep into my memory of my 9th grade Civics class with Ms. Drina Hedgepeth and recall how our government works on writing a piece of legislation. I don’t know if I was just a naive young girl back then; but, frankly, I thought the process was reasonable and straight forward. Now, I know how many years that has been since I sat in that classroom; and, no doubt, there have been lots of laws written and enacted since then. However, somewhere along the way, it has become “ok” to tack onto a proposed piece of legislation some random piece of one’s initiative/agenda/passion/etc.; that may or may not have anything to do with the original intent of the legislation; to get someone or a group of people’s special initiative passed into law. Now, in case you are wondering, that IS exactly what has happened to this HB2 piece of legislation.
Now, if you want to know what has gotten me “riled up” over this, it is that this bill’s intent is actually buried and has more to do with employment discrimination claims in courts. And, to make matters worse is that many of our legislators, who are lawyers and have legal representation on their staff, have not read this to understand the implications of what was about to be enacted. This little piece of legislation, 4-1/2 pages is packed full of “jibberish” that does nothing good “for the people” of NC. This was confirmed to me in a statement in The Fayetteville Observer by Rep. Billy Richardson who “regrets” his vote FOR this bill and readily is admitting his mistake – which, in my opinion, should not have happened had he been well informed on this bill. I suspect there are many others down on Jones Street that had no idea or still have no idea what they were voting on or what was included in this piece of legislation. The fact that an “interest” in LGBT could be “added” to this piece of legislation just goes to show how confusing making laws have become when you read the bill and attempt to understand how this can better life or protect the people in North Carolina
One more story that is worth sharing with you all is that 25 years ago, I assisted a group with another piece of legislation that was vital to the safety and welfare of ALL people – especially if you ever darken the doors of public buildings. A “random” exemption to a licensing law was inserted into a “budget related” piece of legislation that had lots of good stuff in it “for the people”. This “exemption” was strategically inserted when there was little to no chance of the licensing board being able to make contact with legislators to inform them of what this really meant. I, personally, went to a legislator, whom I had known from my childhood and school days and explained that I was hoping she would vote against the bill. When she heard my concern and explanation, she attempted to share the story with others before the vote but it was too late to change the legislation and keep the good and remove the ill thought of exemption. As of today, you are potentially still in great danger if you are in a public building that has been built in these last 25 years and building inspectors and engineers and others have not pressed for a more thorough review of this particular exemption. Again, a “favor” was extended to the bill writers constituent and who is paying the price for this – YOU are!
As I have written this blog entry today, I have become informed that Gov. McCrory has determined that portions of this “law” may need to be reviewed. I have heard that the NC Attorney General had said he would not enforce/represent court actions on this bill in its current state – and for good reason, it is a very BAD bill with pieces and parts that do not match and can cause more harm than good – isn’t that the whole purpose of regulations and laws – protection for the people? And, as the old saying goes, “pieces and parts” …….. and not to be totally flippant; but, it will take “an act of Congress” to undo this law, mark it down and stay tuned, it could get worse.
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