No Love in Charlotte!
Religious fascists outflank and out gun LGBT activists.
Charlotte, North Carolina, America’s 17th largest City by population confirms that it is only a second rate city.
“Transgender woman booted from city restroom” read a headline from the Charlotte Observer.“
It should have read … fundamentalist “Christian” women enter womens bathroom with video camera and vocally harass trans woman and then call police.
Sound familiar? Do liars call YOU a liar?
If anything, the need for transgender protections in public spaces like bathrooms was on grand display in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center during the hearing on a contentious LGBT non discrimination ordinance.
The local LGBT press reported that Anti-LGBT activists confronted several transgender individuals about which bathroom they used. Notably, street preacher Flip Benham (father of the house-flipping conservative darlings David and Jason Benham — “The Benham Brothers”), reportedly accosted a 17-year-old transgender girl as she came out of the women’s room, calling her a “young man,” a “punk,” and a “pervert.” One of Benham’s fellow anti-LGBT activists, Ante Pavkovic, took a video of the encounter, but Benham told LGBT outlet qnotes that he’d be sending it to FOX News’ Sean Hannity.
It was also reprted that toward the end of the hearing, a transgender woman who identified herself as Coco collapsed after speaking. Benham reportedly laughed and joked about her gender as she lay on the floor needing medical attention.
Benham (Left) during or just after a confrontation with a teen trans girl.
Both Flip Benham and his son David actively supported the “#DontDoItCharlotte” campaign against the ordinance. That group claimed that the ordinance “puts children and women in danger and violates their sense of privacy and security.” It would allow “a member of the opposite sex to view a person while engaging in activities such as undressing, using restrooms, or showering,” a form letter on the group’s site read. Opponents also argued that it would burden “religious freedom” because business owners would not be allowed to use their religious beliefs to justify refusing service to LGBT customers.
The anti- LGBT industry was out in full force, well funded, frightening the public with robocalls and with busloads of people from Jacksonville, FL and South Carolina as well as other parts of North Carolina.
The woman booted from the bathroom was a well known activist, a delegate to the 2012 DNC Convention, a remarkable woman and one for whom I am proud to call “friend,” Janice Covington Allison who wrote:
“From the first moment the meeting started, the shift was towards the bathroom use by transgender people, it was as if the ordinance had no other meat or issues. It was amazing how the opposition shifted its weight towards a person’s basic right to pee.
The LGBT Coalition of Charlotte, including myself was blindsided and not prepared for the attack that was in progress, both outside and inside during the hearings. It was if the enemy of LGBT rights were trained in a boot camp style program. They were relentless with their attack, giving the whole ordeal a riot type atmosphere. We definitely were not prepared for those type of tactics, most of us did not expect the hate that was projected by the Christian radicals, in a hearing that should have been a civil debate. The City Council showed our community that they are not for our rights in any way [or] form. Though I must point out that John Autry and Luwona Mayfield were amazing, because they stayed fast with the entire coalition and for those who condemn them for it are wrong.
Janice Covington Allison
Some in the Gay and Lesbian community said that the coalition should have taken the lessor package that would have left the transgender community holding their pee. My words to them are that we were a coalition and that means all or none. The Coalition held its ranks and commitment to each other as it should have, we lost but were able to hold our head high. Our loss was due to the council people being intimidated by the opposition threatening them that they would not be re-elected.”
The local Charlotte paper finally added some balance and humanity by telling Janice’s story well after the fact:
The “religious” right organized … they may have lost the Marriage wars, but they will never give up the fight against LGBT people.
The bottom line is that the Charlotte City Council failed to pass an ordinance offering anti-discrimination protections to homosexuals and transgender people.
So what have we learned?
1. The haters see they are losing the marriage war and that they perceive transpeople as the most vulnerable to their hate and as the weakest link among the LGBT community.
2. As I witnessed them bus in people from out of state against marriage to New Jersey so the “Anti-Gay Industry” now does so against transpeople wherever there is an ordinance
In New Jersey we were prepared for them as LGBT people and organizations and allies showed up and outnumbered the haters when they came.
3. Charlotte is not yet ready for prime-time.
I ask the following questions:
1. Why was the LGBT Community in Charlotte not prepared?
2. Where was HRC who I am told comes down to Charlotte for an annual Big Gala. Do they not have expertise on organizing and fighting? They do have expertise on organizing big ticket dinners.
3. Where was Equality North Carolina?
4. Where was Wells Fargo and Bank of America and other major corporations who have their headquarters in Charlotte and support LGBT organization and Pride events. Where was the business community?
5. Where was the Mayor or City Manager to allow aggressive haters to harass innocent people in public places?
6. Where was Paul Singer and the $$ people who are supporting equality, or is it equality for some
7. But most importantly, where were all the local LGBT people that I saw at the parties in Charlotte in 2012? Come out to party, but not fight for their own rights?
Just some impertinent questions.
Babs
Category: Transgender Community News, Transgender Opinion, Transgender Politics
About the Author (Author Profile)
Babs at 76 passed away in 2019. She was a member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee, Deputy Vice Chair of the NJ Democratic State Committee and Political Director of the Gender Rights Advocacy Association of NJ. She served on the Executive Committee of Trans United 4 Obama. She has served as Vice Chair of the DNC Eastern Caucus, was President of NJ Stonewall Democrats, Co-Chair of National Stonewall Democrats Federal PAC Board, Vice-Chair of Garden State Equality, Executive Board member of National Stonewall Democrats as Chair of the DNC Relations Committee and a member of the NJ Civil Unions Review Commission.Subscribe
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