On February 22, the Charlotte City Council passed a non-discrimination ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in public accommodations, in passenger vehicles for hire, and by city contractors. The ordinance was set to take effect on April 1. Instead, the North Carolina General Assembly called a special legislative session at the end of March to overturn the law with state-wide legislation (House Bill 2 or HB-2). Without any transparency, the legislature shuttled the bill from committee to the floor for votes in the House and Senate. Hours later, Governor Pat McCrory signed the law.
The new law wiped out local ordinances that ban discrimination, including one in a county that had prohibited discrimination on the basis of veteran status and family status. It wiped out local government attempts to protect child workers, to increase living standards, and to help new families. It also wiped out the right to sue in state court for discrimination.
The law has lazily been called the “bathroom law,” despite its sweeping provisions, because it targeted Charlotte’s ordinance that affirmed the decision of a transgender man, for example, to use the men’s restroom despite his being born biologically female.
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Of course, the law goes way further than regulating bowel movements, but requiring transgender people to use the restroom matching their biological sex is what drives much of public opinion. Despite zero evidence from more than 200 jurisdictions with a similar anti-discrimination law, proponents of HB-2 cite privacy and protection of women and children.
Ironically, HB-2 actually restricts privacy and makes protecting children harder.
If you want to use a restroom, you may now be forced to prove your biological sex. Unless you carry a birth certificate around, you or your children may need to show your biological sex to an inspector. To further illustrate the absurdity of this law, consider a father and his eight-year-old daughter attending an event together. The daughter must use the restroom alone. Or, if he needs to use the restroom, she must wait outside alone.
Already, HB-2 has done nearly $100 million in damage to the North Carolina economy, with the prospects of hundreds of millions or more of decreased economic activity. The federal government is considering whether it will withhold billions of dollars.
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Eric Fink (Photo via Elon Law)
So this brings us to Elon Law professor Eric Fink. Eric is running for the North Carolina State Senate against Phil Berger, the Senate president pro tempore and arguably the most powerful politician in the state.
I conducted an interview with Eric, which is below. For full disclosure, Eric is on my organization’s national advisory council. I am also volunteering for his campaign. He’s running in the district where I grew up and where my parents still live. And, as a resident of North Carolina, I have seen the devastation the state legislature and governor have wrought.
Kyle McEntee: Why are you running for the North Carolina State Senate?
Eric Fink: After the primary on April 15th, I saw nobody challenged him. An incumbent without a challenge is a threat to democracy — especially when that person is responsible for such a harmful agenda. I decided I was up for the challenge, so why not me? The support from this community and from my friends astounds me. There’s a thirst for a new direction.
KM: What are three issues you really care about?
EF: I will lead the charge to repeal and replace HB-2. This law typifies everything that is wrong with our government. It was passed covertly to avoid public scrutiny. It is a monumental government overreach. And as a labor and employment lawyer, this last one really bothers me: It makes it harder to assert your rights. You can no longer sue in state court if you are discriminated against for your religion, race, or gender.
HB-2 does not make sexual assault or peeping more illegal. It does destroy our economy. The North Carolina economy has already lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of the law my opponent continues to defend. It looks like that number will creep into the billions. This law takes money from local businesses, and also makes it even more difficult to remedy the state’s education troubles.
Strong communities are built on public education. For decades, North Carolina has been a leader in public higher education. It’s no longer true that our higher education system is the envy of the country. We need to invest in our community college system. We need to train young people for the jobs of tomorrow, and retrain current workers for the jobs of today.
The problems are not just in higher education though. K-12 funding is embarrassing. We must stop the mass exodus of teachers from North Carolina. The current funding levels for public education are a disgrace to anyone who talks about the value of education. We are having trouble recruiting highly qualified teachers and retaining them. How can we expect strong communities if we refuse to invest in our future?
An assault on public education is an assault on our community. I am committed to bringing public school teacher salaries to nationally competitive levels. I am also committed to promoting innovation in education. We must adjust Charter School laws and regulations to ensure that private interests are not elevated above our communities.
The third issue I really care about is the environment. My opponent has supported fracking in our backyard. Duke Power is also making a mess of this district with coal ash. My opponent has ensured taxpayers pay for Duke Power’s coal ash mess. We must stop poisoning the environment.
What my campaign comes down to is that the establishment’s approach to jobs and economic development is completely wrong. They turned North Carolina into a low-wage economy that’s inherently unstable. We need to invest in our people; invest in our communities; and use the returns of these investments to make the lives of hard-working people just a little bit easier. The establishment tried giveaways to big corporations, and we’ve seen little or no return. It’s time for a new approach that puts the people in our community first.
KM: How has being a law professor affected the way you see HB-2?
EF: As a law professor, part of what I find so troubling about HB-2 is the manipulation of fear and stigma as a smokescreen for an attack on civil rights. It’s a remarkably cynical and destructive use of law and in that sense the harm goes far beyond the specific provisions of this one piece of legislation.
KM: What’s your first campaign challenge?
EF: We need 5000 signatures by early June. No independent candidate for North Carolina State Senate has ever qualified for a government-printed ballot. The legislature set the district independent petition at 4% of registered voters in the district. It’s a tall order, but my volunteers are doing a great job with signature collection. We will get there.
KM: Can you win?
EF: Victory is more than possible. We’ve been crunching the numbers and examining voter record data. I’m different than typical candidates. I can speak across party-lines.
KM: Thanks, Eric.
EF: My pleasure.
Kyle McEntee is the executive director of Law School Transparency, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to make entry to the legal profession more transparent, affordable, and fair. LST publishes the LST Reports and produces I Am The Law, a podcast about law jobs. You can follow him on Twitter @kpmcentee and @LSTupdates.