Statement on Anti-trans & Transphobic Legislation

Multiple pieces of legislation have been introduced and passed across the nation within the last three months of 2021.  By March 9, 2021, more than twenty-eight states introduced over eighty-two anti-trans bills.  Half of these were aimed at preventing trans athletes from participating in sports that are designated for the gender in which they identify.  Thirty more are attempting to criminalize gender-affirming healthcare for minors. 

The obvious abhorrent rhetoric that galvanizes these bills is explicitly transmisogynist, framing trans girls’ genders as inauthentic and dangerous.  The more heinous nature of these bills is that it is happening in broad daylight during an ongoing pandemic and in tandem with the continued murder and violence against trans women, particularly trans women of color.  The same period in which these bills have been introduced also saw a more than 250% increase in trans murders from the previous year.  Two thirds of that number have been Black trans women. 

The Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce stands in opposition to the anti-trans legislation, particularly the legislation introduced in the State of North Carolina.  SB-514, HB-358 and SB-515 are categorically anti-trans, transmisogynistic and harmful to the most vulnerable of the citizens of North Carolina.  These bills further isolate and marginalize trans people, causing irreparable harm. 

We stand in solidarity with trans individuals and communities fighting for rights to self-identification, privacy, and healthcare.  Trans rights are human rights.  We acknowledge that gender diversity and self-identification are integral to justice for all people and should be recognized and respected in our schools, healthcare facilities, workplaces, and marketplaces.