WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Equality NC have announced that executives from Alaska Airlines, Aon plc., BlackRock, BNY Mellon, Cummins Inc., Hunter Douglas Inc., Leidos, RSM US LLP, and Sabre have signed onto an open letter that now includes more than 200 leading CEOs and business leaders urging North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory and the state’s General Assembly to repeal the deeply discriminatory HB 2.
A copy of the updated business letter, which now includes more than 200 major CEOs and business leaders calling for repeal of HB 2, can be found here and below. The letter was first released on March 29, and includes many companies listed as North Carolina’s largest private employers by the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
The momentum to repeal HB 2 comes as the Charlotte City Council is standing strong against Republican lawmakers in Raleigh and leaders of the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, who have attempted to redirect blame for the economic backlash of HB2. Senate President Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore earlier this week reiterated their support for the discriminatory bill, with Moore saying that the provision barring transgender people from the appropriate bathroom is “non-negotiable.”
“Discrimination is bad for North Carolina, bad for America, and bad for business,” said HRC President Chad Griffin in announcing the letter. “These business leaders are speaking out because they know this attack on lesbian, gay, bisexual and especially transgender North Carolinians isn’t just morally wrong — it also puts their employees, customers and North Carolina’s economy at risk. For the sake of all North Carolinians, Governor McCrory and the General Assembly must act now to repeal this heinous attack on fairness and equality.”
“North Carolina’s place as a business leader in the South is based on fairness, inclusion, and diversity,” said Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro with the original launch of the open letter. “HB 2 does not represent North Carolina values, and it weakens our competitive edge. We are glad to see our business community in the Old North State standing up against discriminatory measures like this. Governor McCrory made a mess of our state last [month], and our businesses are leading the charge to repair our state to a place of fairness.”
HRC has also invoked the North Carolina Public Records Law to gain access to any communications the Governor, the Executive Branch, or the General Assembly had among each other or with the kind of extreme anti-LGBT special interest groups who often craft and push the kind of language included in HB 2. Specifically, the organization is demanding that the government release any communications legislators or the Governor or his staff have had with the North Carolina Values Coalition or the Alliance Defending Freedom from the office of Gov. McCrory, Senate President Pro Tem Berger and Speaker Moore about HB 2. The request has not been met or addressed in the six weeks since its submission.
