States’ legislation aids discrimination

editorial cartoon by Jacob Bogdanoff
editorial cartoon by Jacob Bogdanoff

Over the past few weeks, a terrifying amount of anti-LGBTQ legislation has trickled down the pipeline. North Carolina, Georgia and Kansas have started deliberations on highly discriminatory bills that not only allow but encourage the systematic discrimination of the LGBTQ community. In 2016 these bills represent the toxic notion that people can still refuse to co-exist with certain groups based on sexual orientation alone.

The North Carolina bill removes ordinances that prohibit LGBTQ discrimination, meaning countless individuals can lose their jobs because of their sexual orientation. The constitutionality of the bill is still very much in question.

In Georgia, there is a bill that echoes North Carolina’s hateful sentiments. The bill, called the Free Exercise Protection Act, gives faith-based organizations the right to deny individuals basic services because they do not approve of their sexual orientation.

Georgia’s bill sets off a number of personal alarms. For instance, most homeless shelters are grounded in at least one component of faith. If a trans youth, alienated from peers and family, seeks protection, these shelters would be able to legally turn them away. The very idea that a shelter can legally opt to leave someone out in the cold because there is one element of their life with which the shelter disagrees is abhorrent.

Kansas has gone through the motions with a bill that would allow students to sue their school if they catch a transgender student using the bathroom that does not match their birth sex. This bill teaches young people to discriminate against their transgender peers. This level of hatred should never be fostered by anyone, let alone taught to students.

Thankfully, these assaults on equality have not gone unnoticed. Economic power players like the NBA threatened to stop doing business with North Carolina, removing the 2017 All-Star game. Disney and Coca-Cola have made similar threats to Georgia.

It is more important than ever to stand in solidarity with the NBA, Disney and the other major businesses that support the LGBTQ community.

State legislators might not listen to the people because their heads are too deeply buried in the sand, but they will not be able to ignore the economic impact these big companies will have on the states. This may be the only way to stop these bills dead in their tracks, which means the preservation of LGBTQ rights.

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Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

Jacob Bogdanoff

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