Sir Elton John: North Carolina Gov. McCrory Ignorant on Transgender Identity

Pop icon Sir Elton John has attacked North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory for his "ignorance" of transgender identity as the issue continues to roil the state, using a blog posted on the The Hill's website on Tuesday.

The British entertainer added his name to list of others, including Bruce Springsteen and former Beatle Ringo Starr, voicing opposition to the state's Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, also known as House Bill 2.

The state measure, which was signed into law by McCrory in March, bans people from using public bathrooms that don't correspond with their biological sex and prevents municipalities from enacting their own legislation reversing the law, noted CNN.

"But what's worse than the discriminatory bill itself, and the millions in taxpayer dollars McCrory is wasting to defend it, is that the governor signed it after admitting he had never met a transgender person," John said in his post for The Hill. "Although McCrory later walked his statement back, the message he sent was clear: the actual experiences of transgender people have no place in a debate over their basic rights."

On May 9, North Carolina and the U.S. Justice Department announced competing lawsuits over House Bill 2, with the state charging that the law does not discriminate against transgender people and the federal government saying its violates their civil rights, said the Washington Post.

"Forcing transgender people to use the bathroom of a gender with which they don't identify isn't just inconvenient or impractical," John said. "For many, especially young students still grappling with their transition, it can be traumatic, and at worst, unsafe."

"The failure of McCrory and other lawmakers to see this is a failure of compassion, a failure to recognize the difficult and frequently unwelcoming world transgender people must navigate every day, stigmatized by the fear and ignorance of others." 

While PayPal and Deutsche Bank have canceled expansions in North Carolina because of House Bill 2, the law has won praise from groups like the Family Research Council, noted CNN.

North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger gave full-throated support for the law in April, rejecting complaints from celebrities and others about the measure, noted the News & Observer.

"My job is not to give in to the demands of multimillionaire celebrities pushing a pet social agenda, liberal newspapers like The New York Times, big corporations who have every freedom to set whatever policies they wish under this law," said Berger.

"My job is to listen to the people who elected us to represent them. And the vast majority of North Carolinians we've heard from understand and support this reasonable, common-sense law." 

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