The worst NC legislature in living memory

http://m.courier-tribune.com/opinion/staff-columns/worst-legislature-living-memory

By Jim Meredith

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Not since the establishment of Jim Crow over a century ago has a North Carolina Legislature been so mean-spirited, so cynical, so lacking in conscience, so devoid of moral authority. Never before has a North Carolina legislature been so oblivious to the tide of history. Never has a Legislature been so careless, so irresponsible, and so heedless of the impact of their actions on the well-being of our state and its citizens.

Although I am a well-known active Democrat, I have lived most of my life in Randolph County and I have no shortage of Republican friends and relatives. Some of those Republican friends and I have found ourselves agreeing about HB2. People of both parties want their LGBT friends and relatives treated with kindness and respect. People of both parties are using phrases like “mean spirited”, “legislative overreach”, “intrusive”, and “authoritarian.”

As a Republican acquaintance told me, “This is, in no way, small government.”

The high profile “bathroom” provisions of HB2 have generated most of the national outrage. That may be what our legislators intended. They may have cynically assumed that the majority of North Carolinians had gut-negative attitudes toward the LGBT community and wouldn’t pay attention to the rest of the bill.

In 12 short hours, they ran roughshod over democratic principle and due process. The rushed schedule prevented people from having time to adequately review and challenge the law. The result was a law that prevents employees who are unjustly fired from filing claims of discrimination in state courts.

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