Rights organization announces boycott of North Carolina over ‘discriminatory’ legislation News
Rights organization announces boycott of North Carolina over ‘discriminatory’ legislation

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) [website] passed a resolution [resolution, PDF] on Friday announcing a national boycott of North Carolina. The NAACP asked other organizations, artists, religious groups, and sports leagues to follow suit and according to the NAACP, 200 organizations are already planning to join the boycott. The first action taken by the NAACP was to decide not to hold their annual convention in North Carolina. The boycott comes as a response to North Carolina redrawing voter districts, enacting a new voter ID law, enacting a law to limit the power of the Governor and the passing of House Bill 2 (HB 2) [statute, PDF]. NAACP claims that these actions are unconstitutional and done in order to suppress voting and racially discriminate, in an effort to maintain an all-white legislative caucus. HB 2 restricts access of transgender persons to public bathrooms and has been much critized since its adoption, but also deals with other issues. NAACP in its resolution calls HB 2 anti-transgender, anti-worker and anti-access to the state court for employment discrimination. The NAACP intends to keep up the boycott untill the North Carolina legislature cures all of the injustices. In the resolution the NAACP further promises to fight similar laws around the nation and to institute sanctions against any state that passes discriminatory laws.

North Carolina’s stance on LGBT rights has been a topic of national controversy. Last March the state’s then-governor Pat McCrory signed HB2 into law [JURIST report]. A few days later North Carolina individuals and civil rights groups filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] against McCrory, claiming that the bill he signed one week prior was unconstitutional and discriminatory. On February 10 2017, six members of the North Carolina House of Representatives filed a bill to repeal HB 2 [JURIST report].