Please pass the schadenfreude pie!
In North Carolina and Mississippi, Backlash Grows Over Rights Law
When Bruce Springsteen canceled a concert in Greensboro, N.C., last weekend to protest a state law that many said curbed gay and transgender rights, it was only the latest fallout from the measure. Like similar legislation in Mississippi, it has drawn criticism across the country.
The rock star joined politicians, municipalities and businesses that had withdrawn cultural events, projects and official travel to North Carolina, dealing symbolic and economic blows to the state because of the new law, which bars transgender people from using public bathrooms that do not match the sex on their birth certificates.
“Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry - which is happening as I write - is one of them,” Mr. Springsteen said in a statement.
On Wednesday, the onetime Beatles drummer Ringo Starr announced that he was canceling a June 18 show in Cary, N.C.
“I’m sorry to disappoint my fans in the area, but we need to take a stand against this hatred,” he said. “Spread peace and love.”
Also on Wednesday, the actress Sharon Stone canceled plans to film a movie in Mississippi about cyberbullying.
Here are some other key developments in the two states.
April 12
• Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina backed away from elements of the law, but he stopped short of opposing limits on bathroom access and left other elements of the measure intact.
• Deutsche Bank announced that it would freeze a plan to create 250 positions at its technology development center in Cary, N.C., in response to the state law.
• Lawmakers in Mississippi called for a repeal of the state law that allows business owners to refuse service to gay men, lesbians and others based on religious beliefs.
• The 37th annual Mississippi Picnic held in Central Park in New York City was canceled as a result of the state law, organizers said.
April 11
• The Canadian singer Bryan Adams canceled a concert scheduled for April 14 in Biloxi, Miss. In a statement headlined “STOP BILL 1523,” he said: “I find it incomprehensible that L.G.B.T. citizens are being discriminated against in the state of Mississippi. I cannot in good conscience perform in a state where certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation.”
• The musician Jimmy Buffett condemned North Carolina’s law in a post on his blog, but declined to cancel any shows there.
April 5
• PayPal said it was canceling plans to open a global operations center in Charlotte, N.C., that would have employed 400 people.
• In Mississippi, companies such as Tyson Foods, MGM Resorts International, Nissan and Toyota, all major employers in the state, have raised objections to the law signed by Gov. Phil Bryant. The far-reaching legislation allows individuals and institutions like churches, religious charities and privately held businesses to decline services to gay people if doing so would violate their religious beliefs on marriage and gender.
• Vermont, Washington State and New York have banned official state-funded or sponsored travel to Mississippi.
March 29
• More than 80 chief executives of corporations and technological giants - including Facebook, Apple and Google - signed a letter to Governor McCrory of North Carolina urging that the law be repealed. Bank of America, which has its headquarters in Charlotte, also signed the letter.
“We are disappointed in your decision to sign this discriminatory legislation into law,” the letter reads. “The business community, by and large, has consistently communicated to lawmakers at every level that such laws are bad for our employees and bad for business.”
• Braeburn Pharmaceuticals said it was “extremely disappointed” and was reconsidering plans to expand a plant in the state that would bring an investment of nearly $20 million and 52 new jobs.
March 28
• Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York signed an executive order banning all nonessential state travel to North Carolina.
• Similar orders were issued by Govs. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, Peter Shumlin of Vermont and Jay Inslee of Washington State; along with Mayors Bill de Blasio of New York City, Ed Lee of San Francisco, Muriel Bowser of the District of Columbia, Rahm Emanuel of Chicago and Ed Murray of Seattle, among others.
• High Point Market, which hosts a huge furnishings industry trade show in High Point, N.C., said in a statement that dozens of customers had been in contact to say they had canceled plans to visit. “Based on the reaction in just the last few days, hundreds and perhaps thousands of our customers will not attend Market this April,” it said.
March 24
• The N.C.A.A., which plans to hold tournament events in North Carolina in 2017 and 2018, said that it would “monitor current events, which include issues surrounding diversity, in all cities bidding on N.C.A.A. championships and events, as well as cities that have already been named as future host sites.”
• The N.B.A. also released a statement.
March 23
• American Airlines, which employs 14,000 people in North Carolina and has its second-largest hub in Charlotte, issued a statement critical of the new law passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Governor McCrory within 12 hours.
• On Twitter, a hashtag, #WeAreNotThis, and an account calling for a boycott of the state appeared.
• Attorney General Roy Cooper, Mr. McCrory’s Democratic opponent in the race for governor, posted a video and tweets criticizing the new law.
• The measure generated a lawsuit, and Mr. Cooper has declined to defend the law in Federal District Court.
SOURCE
I was sitting right here at this computer when I heard on the news about Ringo canceling his NC show, and I literally cheered out loud!
I don't know anything about NC politics, but I wonder if this debacle might help Roy Cooper get elected governor--we need all the Democratic governors we can get!
When Bruce Springsteen canceled a concert in Greensboro, N.C., last weekend to protest a state law that many said curbed gay and transgender rights, it was only the latest fallout from the measure. Like similar legislation in Mississippi, it has drawn criticism across the country.
The rock star joined politicians, municipalities and businesses that had withdrawn cultural events, projects and official travel to North Carolina, dealing symbolic and economic blows to the state because of the new law, which bars transgender people from using public bathrooms that do not match the sex on their birth certificates.
“Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry - which is happening as I write - is one of them,” Mr. Springsteen said in a statement.
On Wednesday, the onetime Beatles drummer Ringo Starr announced that he was canceling a June 18 show in Cary, N.C.
“I’m sorry to disappoint my fans in the area, but we need to take a stand against this hatred,” he said. “Spread peace and love.”
Also on Wednesday, the actress Sharon Stone canceled plans to film a movie in Mississippi about cyberbullying.
Here are some other key developments in the two states.
April 12
• Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina backed away from elements of the law, but he stopped short of opposing limits on bathroom access and left other elements of the measure intact.
• Deutsche Bank announced that it would freeze a plan to create 250 positions at its technology development center in Cary, N.C., in response to the state law.
• Lawmakers in Mississippi called for a repeal of the state law that allows business owners to refuse service to gay men, lesbians and others based on religious beliefs.
• The 37th annual Mississippi Picnic held in Central Park in New York City was canceled as a result of the state law, organizers said.
April 11
• The Canadian singer Bryan Adams canceled a concert scheduled for April 14 in Biloxi, Miss. In a statement headlined “STOP BILL 1523,” he said: “I find it incomprehensible that L.G.B.T. citizens are being discriminated against in the state of Mississippi. I cannot in good conscience perform in a state where certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation.”
• The musician Jimmy Buffett condemned North Carolina’s law in a post on his blog, but declined to cancel any shows there.
April 5
• PayPal said it was canceling plans to open a global operations center in Charlotte, N.C., that would have employed 400 people.
• In Mississippi, companies such as Tyson Foods, MGM Resorts International, Nissan and Toyota, all major employers in the state, have raised objections to the law signed by Gov. Phil Bryant. The far-reaching legislation allows individuals and institutions like churches, religious charities and privately held businesses to decline services to gay people if doing so would violate their religious beliefs on marriage and gender.
• Vermont, Washington State and New York have banned official state-funded or sponsored travel to Mississippi.
March 29
• More than 80 chief executives of corporations and technological giants - including Facebook, Apple and Google - signed a letter to Governor McCrory of North Carolina urging that the law be repealed. Bank of America, which has its headquarters in Charlotte, also signed the letter.
“We are disappointed in your decision to sign this discriminatory legislation into law,” the letter reads. “The business community, by and large, has consistently communicated to lawmakers at every level that such laws are bad for our employees and bad for business.”
• Braeburn Pharmaceuticals said it was “extremely disappointed” and was reconsidering plans to expand a plant in the state that would bring an investment of nearly $20 million and 52 new jobs.
March 28
• Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York signed an executive order banning all nonessential state travel to North Carolina.
• Similar orders were issued by Govs. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, Peter Shumlin of Vermont and Jay Inslee of Washington State; along with Mayors Bill de Blasio of New York City, Ed Lee of San Francisco, Muriel Bowser of the District of Columbia, Rahm Emanuel of Chicago and Ed Murray of Seattle, among others.
• High Point Market, which hosts a huge furnishings industry trade show in High Point, N.C., said in a statement that dozens of customers had been in contact to say they had canceled plans to visit. “Based on the reaction in just the last few days, hundreds and perhaps thousands of our customers will not attend Market this April,” it said.
March 24
• The N.C.A.A., which plans to hold tournament events in North Carolina in 2017 and 2018, said that it would “monitor current events, which include issues surrounding diversity, in all cities bidding on N.C.A.A. championships and events, as well as cities that have already been named as future host sites.”
• The N.B.A. also released a statement.
March 23
• American Airlines, which employs 14,000 people in North Carolina and has its second-largest hub in Charlotte, issued a statement critical of the new law passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Governor McCrory within 12 hours.
• On Twitter, a hashtag, #WeAreNotThis, and an account calling for a boycott of the state appeared.
• Attorney General Roy Cooper, Mr. McCrory’s Democratic opponent in the race for governor, posted a video and tweets criticizing the new law.
• The measure generated a lawsuit, and Mr. Cooper has declined to defend the law in Federal District Court.
SOURCE
I was sitting right here at this computer when I heard on the news about Ringo canceling his NC show, and I literally cheered out loud!
I don't know anything about NC politics, but I wonder if this debacle might help Roy Cooper get elected governor--we need all the Democratic governors we can get!