State Could Nullify Charlotte LGBT Ordinance

CHARLOTTE, NC —    The Charlotte City Council made history voting to extend non-discrimination protections to LGBT residents. Controversy surrounding that vote centers on a provision allowing transgender citizens to use the bathroom of their choice. Now the State of North Carolina is threatening to strike down the new ordinance when the General Assembly comes back in May.

Just hours after city council approved protections for the LGBT community, the state is threatening to strike those protections down.

“I know what the governor wrote in that email he sent me, and I know from conversations that there are concerns in Raleigh, but I haven’t heard anything specific about what they might do,” says Republican Councilman Ed Driggs.

Governor Pat McCrory sent an email to some council members before the vote, warning that approval could bring state legislative intervention.

Speaker of the House Tim Moore released a statement Tuesday saying: “The Charlotte City Council has gone against all common sense and has created a major public safety issue by opening all bathrooms and changing rooms to the general public.”

The ordinance would allow Charlotte’s transgender residents to use the bathroom of their choice in public places. It will go into effect April 1.

But this fight could be far from finished.

Moore’s statement also said: “This ordinance is impossible to regulate as intended, and creates undue regulatory burdens on private businesses. I join my conservative colleagues and Governor McCrory in exploring legislative intervention to correct this radical course.”

The state has ultimate power over cities in North Carolina.

“The General Assembly has all the authority, delegates some authority to city council, but retains the ultimate power,” says Driggs. “Which means it has the ability to reach in at any time and change something we do.”

The legislature could nullify the ordinance as a whole. Let most of it stand, and just deal with the bathroom provision. Or the General Assembly could also pass legislation allowing the people of Charlotte to petition for a referendum, putting the ordinance on a city-wide ballot.

“We want to build good relationships with them,” says Mayor Jennifer Roberts. “And we know that they have authority. That we have to; that their authority is higher than local authority in many instances.”

If the General Assembly goes that route, a referendum vote could be on the ballot as early as November; along with the governors race and the presidential election.