RALEIGH – The Raleigh City Council unanimously voted to join a new LGBTQ-inclusive Wake County, North Carolina, non-discrimination ordinance Tuesday, the day after the ordinance was unanimously voted and adopted by the Wake County Board of Commissioners.

This makes Raleigh the fifteenth jurisdiction in North Carolina to advance a comprehensive nondiscrimination ordinance in 2021.

The ordinance will apply only to the unincorporated areas of the county outside of city or town limits when it goes into effect on Feb. 1, 2022, unless a Wake County municipality’s governing body such as the Raleigh City Council independently adopts it.

All five of North Carolina’s top 5 cities have now passed LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances – including Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham, and Winston-Salem.

“We’re so pleased to see Raleigh take this historic step to expand nondiscrimination. Nearly 30 percent of the state’s population is now covered by LGBTQ inclusive ordinances, and this represents a great change for the city of Raleigh and the state of North Carolina. Raleigh has taken a big step forward to protect LGBTQ people, especially for folks with multiple layers of marginalization, and this only grows momentum for the non-discrimination on the local, state, and federal level,” Kendra R. Johnson, Executive Director of Equality NC, said in a statement.

“No one should be discriminated against because of who they are,” said Matt Calabria, Chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. “Through this ordinance, we’re showing our residents and the world that equality, fairness, and inclusion are core values in our community.”

“I’m proud to see the Raleigh City Council come together to take action and ensure our city is a place where all people feel protected, respected, and safe. As an LGBTQ person myself, it’s so meaningful to know that my city is striving for inclusivity and dignity for everyone, and as an out elected official I’m grateful to work with colleagues committed to doing the right thing,” Jonathan Melton, of the Raleigh City Council, said.

The ordinance allows a person who believes a business or organization has discriminated against them to file a complaint with the County Manager’s Office for investigation. If the complaint falls within the county’s jurisdiction and is factually validated, the county will offer a conciliation process to help resolve the dispute.

Protected classes covered under the ordinance include: race, natural hair or hairstyles, ethnicity, creed, color, sex, pregnancy, marital or familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin or ancestry, National Guard or veteran status, religious belief or non-belief, age or disability.

“This is an important step to strengthen our business community,” said Adrienne Cole, president and CEO of the Raleigh Chamber. “We embrace all efforts and initiatives around diversity, equity, and inclusivity, as does our business community. The Chamber is proud to support this work, and we will continue our support through our Triangle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Alliance.”

“Wake County is also proud to note that Equality NC has endorsed this ordinance. It furthers the board’s goal to embrace diversity, equity and inclusion,” a spokesperson said Wednesday.

The nondiscrimination ordinance that protects residents and visitors from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, natural hairstyle, and other characteristics in employment and public accommodations.

Polling shows that 67% of people in North Carolina support protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination. Studies have shown that 1 in 3 LGBTQ people – including 3 in 5 transgender people – have experienced discrimination in the past year.

RALEIGH – In an appearance at the Upper Room Church of God in Christ in North Carolina’s capital city, Republican Lt. Governor Mark Robinson told people in the pews attending services that ‘God’ only made two genders and that the Trans movement for equality and rights “is demonic and that is full of the spirit of Antichrist.”

Captured on a video by People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch project, Robinson was speaking at the church, whose pastor Patrick Wooden, has been a longtime opponent of LGBTQ+ people and equality. Wooden in a 2013 sermon attacked then California Attorney General Kamala Harris for officiating a same-sex wedding.

GLAAD also has documented Wooden saying; “Everybody knows that a transgendered [sic] woman is a man. And everybody knows that a transgendered man is a woman. And we have allowed common sense to go out of the window in the name of political correctness.”

Wooden also claimed trans rights “hijack” the civil rights movement: “The language of ‘civil rights’ shouldn’t be hijacked to give privileges to the politically vocal while taking away freedoms from people disfavored by government…. As you can see, I am African-American. I have been African-American since birth; God made me this way. For the attorney general to equate the legitimate struggle of the civil rights movement to the things that HB2 stands for is embarrassing and is wrong.”

In his speech, Lt. Governor Robinson said:

“Here’s something else I’m not supposed to say: Ain’t but two genders. You can go to the doctor and get cut up, you can go down to the dress shop and get made up, you can go down there and get drugged up, but at the end of the day, you are just a drugged-up, dressed-up, made-up, cut-up man or woman.

“You ain’t changed what God put in you, that DNA. You can’t transcend God’s creation; I don’t care how hard you try. The transgender movement in this country—if there’s a movement in this country that is demonic and that is full of the spirit of Antichrist, it is the transgender movement.

“We don’t even need science to prove what gender you are. There’s two ways I can do this thing here. The simple way is to go around the corner here to the bathroom and you can drop your pants or whatever you’ve got on, and I can show you what you are.

“Or I can take a little blood at your arm and take it down here to the scientists. He can put in his little petri dish and look at it, ‘Oh, this is the DNA of a white male.’ Well, is there anything in between? ‘No, it’s the DNA of a white male.’

“It don’t matter what you did down there at the therapy doctor and all that.” 

CHARLOTTE – In a speaking engagement at a local church, North Carolina’s Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson called LGBTQ people “filth.” In a video shared by People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch project, Robinson is heard telling the audience that Christians must take control of public schools because children are being abused by being taught “filth”

Robinson made the comments in June at Asbury Baptist Church in Seagrove but a portion of the speech was posted Tuesday on the Twitter profile for Right Wing Watch.

“There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth,” Robinson says. “Yes, I called it filth. And if you don’t like it that I called it filth, come see me and I’ll explain it to you.”

The State Senator for North Carolina’s 37th District, Jeff Jackson, who is also a Major in the Carolina National Guard and a candidate for the U.S. Senate tweeted;

“To our LGBTQ friends who were the targets of this discrimination, you’ve had to put up with this hate for far too long. This kind of behavior should be part of our past, not our present. We’re going to prevail over it, again, and move closer to full equality and dignity.”

Then referring to Robinson’s tirade Jackson wrote: “And I really can’t stand bullies. That’s all this man is. When you stand up to bullies, you catch them by surprise. They count on people stepping aside. That’s not going to happen here. Please join me in letting him know.”

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson says Christians must take control of public schools because children are being abused by being taught “filth”: “There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth.” pic.twitter.com/aXjCPFKTs0

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) October 6, 2021

“Lt. Governor, Mark Robinson, just angrily referred to the LGBTQ community as “filth.” Then he says, “Yes, I called it filth.” There’s no debate here. This is open discrimination. It is completely unacceptable. Mark Robinson should resign. But the fact that he feels comfortable saying this – confident that not a single elected member of his party will stand up to him, as none have – is why this is about more than just him. There’s no shortage of enabling going on here,” Senator Jackson wrote.

Yes, I work hard to stay positive in my campaign.

No, that doesn’t mean turning a blind eye to clear violations of basic decency.

You have to call that out – and let people know what happened. That’s how we do the work of defending those standards.

— Sen. Jeff Jackson (@JeffJacksonNC) October 7, 2021