Consequences for North Carolina anti-LGBT law

When the North Carolina anti-LGBT law that targeted transgenders was passed, the state thought they had all of their bases covered.

But now that they’ve called this tune over House Bill-2 (or the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act), they’re about to pay the piper with economic and state consequences.

North Carolina anti-LGBT law draws corporate flak

Urging North Carolina Governor Pat McRory to repeal the law, a number of companies have condemned it. The latest is Pepsi, with PepsiCo head Indra Nooyi saying the law is inconsistent with how their company treats its employees.

Other companies that have criticized the law include Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Qualcomm, EMC. Apple, Facebook, Uber, Cisco, Salesforce, Reddit, eBay, Starbucks, Citibank, Accenture, Atlassian. Lyft, Dropbox, and Tumblr.

This list also includes IBM, Wells Fargo, the Bank of America. Starwood Hotels, Intel, Miramax, AirBnB, and Levi Strauss.

Meanwhile, Google Venture– the venture capital arm of Google’s parent corporation– has said it would not invest with North Carolina’s startup businesses with the law in place.

Bill Maris, Google Venture Ceo, said, “I have great faith in the people there and a lot of affinity for the state and its people. I am hopeful this will be repealed quickly.”

On the other hand, American Airlines has said they would reduce service to North Carolina if demand drops.

“If they don’t repeal the law, there’ll be fewer people that want to go to North Carolina,” said Doug Parker, chairman and chief executive of the American Airlines.

“They’ll lose convention business and they’ll lose business travel that will hurt American Airlines. We think it’s a bad idea both on social issues and on business issues,” Parker added.

North Carolina anti-LGBT law faces federal, state response

Another backlash from the law is federal funding as HB-2 would make the state ineligible for federal aid for schools, highways, and housing.

The Department of Education allots $4.3 billion in funding for kindergarden through 12th grade, and for colleges in North Carolina. Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation also provides around $1 billion a year in funding.

“We’re reviewing the effects of the law on HUD funding allocated for North Carolina,” said Cameron French, a spokesman for the Department of Housing and Urban Development said.

A number of areas have also banned travel to North Carolina. Washington, DC and Boston have banned government-connected travel to that state to protest against the law. Cities like San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, and Portland have done so as well.

States have likewise issued a ban, like New York, Connecticut, Vermont, and Washington.

Consequences of the North Carolina anti-LGBT law

Human rights and LGBT groups like the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, Lambda Legal, and Equality North Carolina are planning to take North Carolina to court.

Meanwhile, civil-rights advocacy groups like Human Rights Campaign and Equality NC were the ones that spearheaded the open letter that companies used to criticize the North Carolina law.

The world of sports and entertainment have also gotten in the act with Lionsgate Entertainment, Turner Broadcasting, A+E Networks, and 21st Century Fox noting that that they would no longer shoot in North Carolina.

“We will be hard pressed to continue our relationship with North Carolina if this regressive law remains on the books,” Lionsgate said in a statement.

Theatre organizations have likeise raised a boycott of the state. Theatre composer Stephen Schwartz said they “are acting to deny the right to any theatre or organization based in North Carolina to produce any of our shows.”

“We have informed our licensing organizations and touring producers of this, and I’m happy to say have met with compliance and approval from them,” Schwartz said.

Lastly, the National Basketball Association (NBA) said its officials are “deeply concerned” about the North Carolina anti-LGBT law. The NBA noted that they don’t know “what impact it will have on our ability to successfully host the 2017 all-star game in Charlotte.”