Dear Friend,
Earlier this week, our state experienced an extremely detrimental blow when our governor, elected by the people of North Carolina, ruled like a king with a simple swipe of his pen. He completely disregarded the Constitution of North Carolina, which states that “the people rely on the ‘preservation and existence of our civil, political and … religious liberties … for the more certain security thereof and for the better government of this State, ordain and establish this Constitution.’”
Yesterday, Gov. Roy Cooper, along with Attorney General Josh Stein, ignored our state constitution’s traditional and legal religious rights that we hold so dear. Executive Order 24 not only allows males into females’ showers and bathrooms but also forces private businesses to adopt sweeping LGBT privileges at the cost of infringing upon the religious liberty of North Carolinians.
Remember in March when the North Carolina General Assembly reached a compromise with Gov. Cooper on the replacement of H.B.2 with H.B.142, with a restriction on anti-discrimination ordinances in cities and counties? Gov. Cooper was so satisfied with this bill that he signed it into law. Now, less than seven months later, this contradictory order shows his indifference to our state’s laws, our entire general assembly, and his own opinion. Simply put, he exceeded his authority as governor.
According to the analysis of Tami Fitzgerald, Executive Director of NC Values Coalition, we can see that Gov. Cooper’s edict has opened “Pandora’s box” by “creating new categories not found in existing state or federal law for non-discrimination protections, including ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity or expression.’” It appears that the new categories seem to be entirely aimed at expanding preferences under the law for homosexual and transgender individuals with no concern about the privacy and safety of women and children. (Click here to read NC Values Coalition statement in its entirety.)
Both public and private institutions are in jeopardy. Religious liberties among businesses and churches have been trounced, yet again, in deference to LGBTQ special interests. State Senate Leader Phil Berger (R) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-District 111) issued a joint statement concluding, “We trust the court will reject the governor’s latest stunt, which is inconsistent with the deal he negotiated to repeal H.B.2.”
Stay tuned for more details and options for taking action on this very contemptible and harmful new order.
“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face,” (Psalm 89:14).
For Truth and Righteous,
Jill Coward
State Director
director@northcarolina.cwfa.org
nc.cwfa.org