North Carolina's bathroom privacy law, which was passed earlier this year to prevent cities in the state from enacting ordinances that would allow people to use public bathrooms based on their preferred gender, has been met with criticisms left and right.
The NBA already pulled out its scheduled 2017 All-Star Game in the state in opposition to the law, which offended the LGBT community. The NCAA also moved seven championship events from North Carolina as a sign of protest. Other big companies have made similar threats to boycott the state unless the law, called House Bill 2 or HB2, is repealed.
The threats and punitive action taken by some organisations, however, have been denounced by certain segments of society, including the religious community. For instance, many young women have expressed support for the law since they feel safer in public restrooms because of it. One of them recently showed her support for the law by participating in a TV commercial and sharing just how much the law means to her privacy and security.
"Just changing in front of girls my own age is intimidating," a Greenville high school junior named Chloe shares in the commercial, according to Life Site News. "Now they want boys to shower and change beside me? It's not just about privacy; it's safety, too."
Chloe appreciates HB2 because the needs of young girls like her are not forsaken just to appease popular society. "Charlotte's ordinance gives men access to what should be a very private place," Chloe says, referring to an an earlier transgender ordinance passed and later rescinded in Charlotte, the largest city in North Carolina. "HB2 is a fix. It protects my privacy and safety," she says in the ad.
The commercial is sponsored by the Institute for Faith & Family, which spent $215,000 for broadcast television and digital media buys in the Raleigh area.
Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the Institute for Faith and Family, says they hope to open people's eyes regarding other people's points of views on HB2. A lot of people assume that the law was enacted just to slap the transgender community in the face, but Fitzgerald says it's not about that at all.
"Our television ad is necessary to tell the truth about HB2 by educating North Carolinians about the danger and risk associated with laws and policies like Charlotte's ridiculous ordinance, which would have forced private businesses, churches, schools and public buildings to open their women's bathrooms and locker rooms to any man claiming to be a woman, even if that person has male anatomy," she says.
