Anti-LGBT Law in North Carolina Costing State Millions in Jobs, Visitors, Conventions

Passengers boarding at Charlotte’s airport

North Carolina’s anti-LGBT House Bill 2 has resulted in the loss of at least 13 conventions, the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority said last week.

The number includes four cancellations and nine “lost possibilities,” the agency reported. Another 29 groups say they are “hesitant” to bring their events to the city, it said.

The law, passed last month, perpetuates discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and targets transgender bathrooms.

“We are extremely concerned about the state legislation in place as we continue to hear negative feedback and potential event cancellations from our customers,” the agency said in a statement. “On behalf of the visitor economy that represents one in nine jobs across the Charlotte region, we strongly urge that state and local leaders find a resolution that represents the best interests of our city and state.”

Since the law was signed by Governor Pat McCrory, the state has lost over 1,000 jobs and over 100 companies have expressed their concern over the measure. PayPal announced its intentions to cancel plans to build a large presence in the state at a cost of 400 jobs and countless millions of tax dollars. More recently Bruce Springsteen cancelled a concert that was to have taken place Sunday in Greensboro, North Carolina.

“North Carolina has just passed HB2, which the media are referring to as the ‘bathroom’ law,” the performer said in a statement. The law, he said, “dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use. Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden.”

(Photo: Accura Media Group)