Local LGBTQ Organizations and Allies Urge Mecklenburg County Commission to Strengthen and Pass Nondiscrimination Ordinance
Today, organizations that serve the LGBTQ community in Mecklenburg County, NC submitted a letter to the Board of Commissioners regarding the county’s proposed ordinance protecting people from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, natural hairstyle, and other categories.
The Mecklenburg County Commission is scheduled to hear public comment and hold a vote on the ordinance on Tuesday, October 5. If adopted, it would be the thirteen LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance to pass in North Carolina in 2021.
The full letter (available here as a PDF) is below:
As organizations committed to the respect and equality for all people in Charlotte, we urge the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners to pass a strong, comprehensive nondiscrimination ordinance.
Mecklenburg County can join Charlotte and 11 other cities and counties in North Carolina with fully comprehensive protections from discrimination, including discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and natural hairstyles. In doing so, Mecklenburg’s leaders will create a community where all people can thrive.
Like the ordinance considered and eventually passed with unanimous, bipartisan support by the Charlotte City Council, we call on Mecklenburg commissioners to strengthen its provisions by including all employers, regardless of size. The current draft creates a confusing, unnecessary patchwork for the Community Relations Committee, where Charlotte residents are afforded protections at all employers, while Mecklenburg County’s jurisdictions limit who is protected.
We urge Mecklenburg County Commissioners to amend the ordinance to address this important gap – that all employers are covered by the ordinance under the scope of the Community Relations Committee.
It is time for Mecklenburg County to protect all its residents. To do so, we need the strongest ordinance possible to truly protect against discrimination. Thank you for taking action.
Signed,
Daniel Valdez (he/him), President, Charlotte Pride
Clark Simon (he/him), Vice President, Charlotte Pride
Bishop Tonyia Rawls (she/her), Executive Director, The Freedom Center for Social Justice
Cameron Pruette (he/him), President, LGBTQ+ Democrats of Mecklenburg County
Bethany Corrigan (they/them), Executive Director, Transcend Charlotte
Jenny Jaymes Gunn (she/they), Board member of NOW Charlotte Chapter, LGBT Advisor to CRAN, Charlotte Pride’s Trans Pride Coordinator
Allison Scott (she/they), Director of Impact & Innovation, Campaign for Southern Equality
Chad Turner (he/him), President/CEO, Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce
Rell Lowery (he/him), Transgender Liason, Charlotte Black Pride
Jennifer Ratajczak, MA, LCMHCS (she/her), President of Charlotte Transgender Healthcare Group
Ginger Walker (she/her), President, LGBTQ+ Democrats of North Carolina
Kendra R. Johnson (she/her), Executive Director, Equality NC
Local organizing in Charlotte has been led by Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, Charlotte Black Pride, Charlotte Pride, The Freedom Center for Social Justice, LGBTQ+ Dems NC of Mecklenburg County, and Transcend Charlotte.
Through the NC is Ready for LGBTQ Protections campaign, led by Equality North Carolina and the Campaign for Southern Equality, a diverse array of voices has spoken out for LGBTQ protections at the local, state, and federal levels. Learn more at www.ncisready.org.