What you need to know about NC legislation seeking to regulate LGBTQ+ people
Republicans in the North Carolina legislature this year have been seeking to expand government regulation of human sexuality that supporters say will protect teens and younger children, and protect women. Critics say these bills seek to harm and marginalize LGBTQ+ children and adults.
Here are some of the bills and where they stand:
Criminalize drag shows if kids are present
House Bill 673, “Clarify Regulations on Adult Entertainment,” would prohibit “adult live entertainment” on private property in the presence of anyone under age 18 and not allow it at all on public property.
“Adult live entertainment” is defined as “a performance featuring topless dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, or male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest.” The first offense would be a misdemeanor and subsequent offenses would be felonies.
This bill is in response to a drag performance at Forsyth Technical Community College. High school students also attend the college. A video on social media shows a male dancer in women’s clothing dancing while straddling a female student who is sitting in a chair. Afterward, the student stands and gives the dancer a hug.
The public school system said minor students were present at the drag show and should not have been, the Greensboro News & Record newspaper reported.
“Well, I think it’s about age-appropriate entertainment for kids. I mean, there’s a reason why we don’t have adult entertainment in the schools,” bill sponsor Rep. Jeff Zenger told television station CBS-17. “This isn’t targeting anyone individually. All it does is classify drag shows as adult entertainment.”
The LGBTQ community says the bill is a threat to non-provocative.
“They're trying to end a long-established form of art and entertainment by defining it as adult entertainment,” Sandhills Pride Executive Director Lauren Mathers told The Fayetteville Observer. “Prurient interest is not what drag is about. Drag is an art form that uses exaggeration of features to provide entertainment that is basically, and mostly, comedy.”
The bill is pending in a state House committee.
‘We’re under attack’ — NC House bill targets drag performances
Don’t tell young kids about sex or sexuality; do tell parents about potentially trans students
Senate Bill 49, entitled “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” is 11 pages of new regulations for schools.
It sets up rules to ensure parents can inspect educational materials and object to ones they disagree with.
It prohibits the schools from teaching children from kindergarten through the fourth grade about “gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality.” However, it does allow teachers and staff to answer questions if a student asks.
The bill requires the school to tell parents if the school personnel will address a child by a new name or pronoun. LGBTQ+ activists say this could force the schools to “out” transgender students to their parents before they are ready or feel safe to do so.
The bill passed the state Senate 29-18 in a party-line vote in February and is pending in the House.
In Tennessee: State House Republican resigned in April amid sexual harassment scandal involving an intern
Prohibit gender transition medical treatment for minors
Several pieces of legislation would ban doctors from giving gender-affirming or gender-transition treatment to minors, including pharmaceuticals and surgery.
These are House Bills 43 and 808, and Senate Bills 560 and 639.
House Bill 808 passed the House on May 3 and is pending in the Senate.
Let medical providers, insurers and employers opt out of paying for some care
House Bill 819 and Senate Bill 641 would create a “conscientious medical objection” law.
This would allow insurance companies, employers who pay for employee insurance, health care institutions (including clinics, hospitals, nursing homes and others), doctors and other health care workers, and others, to opt out of paying for or providing medical care that conflicts with their ethics.
This could include treatment for gender transition and other types of medical care.
The legislation would not allow providers to refrain from providing emergency medical treatment.
The bills are pending in legislative committees.
Trans athletes in high school and college sports
House Bill 574 and Senate Bill 631, both called the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” would prohibit schools from allowing transgender athletes to compete on single-sex teams of the gender they identify with.
More: What NCHSAA, Cumberland County said about NC bills that would block transgender athletes
The regulation would be imposed on traditional public schools, charter public schools, religious private schools and other private schools. The House version of the bill also covers college athletics, including intramural sports.
House Bill 574 passed the House and is pending in the Senate. Senate Bill 631 passed the Senate and is pending in the House.
Senior North Carolina reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Legislation seeks to regulate LGBTQ+ in schools, sports, entertainment
