Amid reports that North Carolina lawmakers will vote in coming days on possible revisions to its controversial gender bathroom law, the National Basketball Association and the Charlotte Hornets have weighed in.
“We have been engaged in dialogue with numerous groups at the city and state levels, but we do not endorse the version of the bill that we understand is currently before the legislature,” according to a joint statement released by the NBA on Thursday.
“We remain committed to our guiding principles of inclusion, mutual respect and equal protections for all. We continue to believe that constructive engagement with all sides is the right path forward. There has been no new decision made regarding the 2017 NBA All-Star Game.”
The All-Star game is scheduled to be held in Charlotte` in February.
A draft of the revised legislation obtained by CNN suggests North Carolina will adopt federal workplace anti-discrimination standards and replace state standards set forth previously in House Bill 2.
The law requires people to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender at birth and prevents local governments from passing anti-discrimination ordinances.
The draft of the “Privacy, Dignity, and Safety For All Act” calls for the state’s vital records office to issue “certificates of sex reassignment,” designed to accommodate North Carolina residents born in other states or jurisdictions that do not allow the amendment of birth certificates for persons who have had sex reassignment surgery.
Certificates of sex reassignment are considered a “vital record,” similar to birth, death and marriage certificates, but those certificates will not be public records.
Certificates can be obtained by written application if they are “accompanied by a notarized statement from the physician who performed the sex reassignment surgery or from a physician licensed to practice medicine who has examined the individual and who can certify that the person has undergone sex reassignment surgery,” according to the document received from the legislative staff of state Sen. Dan Blue.
The state will define “biological sex” according to the most recent documentation, either a birth certificate, amended birth certificate or certificate of sex reassignment.
The draft legislation increases punishment for certain crimes committed against anyone in bathrooms, locker rooms and showers.
The act also authorizes the establishment of a blue-ribbon commission to study issues of discrimination within the state “by examining approaches to these issues in North Carolina, other states, and the federal government,” according to the draft.
LGBT groups said the draft legislation is a far cry from what they want: a full repeal of the law.
“This is nothing more than ‘HB 2.0,'” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. “Anyone who cares about equality must reject this ridiculous proposal out of hand. This despicable bill would continue insidious policies targeting LGBTQ people for discrimination and do nothing to fix the mess HB2 created. It’s past time for North Carolina lawmakers to listen to the overwhelming chorus of voices from across North Carolina and around the country calling for full repeal of this hateful law.”
