Almost seven years after North Carolina repealed the “bathroom bill,” which caused economic strife and national articles, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is bringing up the subject of trans people’s bathroom needs.
Robinson suggested that people who had previously identified as men may be “arrested” if they used a women’s restroom in recent weeks during strategy speeches. Instead, he advises them to “find a spot outside there” to relieve themselves.
According to a picture of his campaign stop in Cary earlier this month, he declared, “We’re going to support people in this state.” “That means you will be arrested or whatever we have to do to you if you’re a male on Friday nights and suddenly feel like one on Saturday and you want to use the mall’s restroom.”
Robinson added, “If you’re confused, find a spot outside somewhere to go,” in his Greenville speech. “We’re not destroying community as a result of this.”
When WUNC sent questions requesting explanation on Robinson’s position on toilet regulations, a campaign spokesperson for Robinson declined to respond. He did not respond to inquiries about the lieutenant governor’s desire to restore regulations akin to House Bill 2.
The “bathroom bill,” a law that was passed in 2016 in response to Charlotte’s fresh equality ordinance, is known as such. The act mandated, among other things, that individuals use restrooms in public places that match the sex listed on their birth certificate.
HB2 was criticized for being unjust to the LGBTQ+ group, which led some businesses to boycott North Carolina. The state was temporarily prohibited by the NCAA from hosting collegiate sporting championships.
The majority of the law was repealed in 2017 as part of a deal between Gov. Roy Cooper and lawmakers from the GOP. Since then, even as the GOP pursues other transgender-related restrictions, bathrooms haven’t received much attention. The government outlawed gender-affirming healthcare for trans people under the age of 18 last year, and it also prohibited trans athletes from competing on teams that matched their gender identity.
According to Chris Cooper, a social scientist at Western Carolina University, “most Republicans have avoided” the bathroom issue since 2017. “Mark Robinson is obviously not most Republicans, but I anticipate him bringing this up repeatedly… I believe that this is not the last time Mark Robinson brings up topics related to trans rights or bathrooms, as well as what he believes to be the wrong course for the state.”
When asked to respond to Robinson’s comments about bathrooms, Salisbury counsel Bill Graham, one of his Democratic primary rivals, made an unrelated statement through a spokesperson.
“If Mark Robinson is the nominee, he will drop and harm all GOP candidates,” according to spokesperson Alex Baltzegar in an email. “His disparaging remarks about people and the Holocaust will harm GOP candidates’ chances of winning the presidency and governorship in North Carolina.”
State Treasurer Dale Folwell, a different Republican candidate, stated that “women should only be in children’s restrooms, and if the General Assembly thinks those rules need to be tightened, then they should work on that.” “There are just so many regulations, in my opinion, that individuals need to make sure they are being followed.”
Folwell criticized the GOP frontrunner’s history of disparaging remarks made about a variety of organizations. He claimed that he was literature’s most recent instance of someone who tried to gain power by telling people who to hate.
This week, Graham’s campaign introduced new advertisements and a website called meetmarkrobinson.com, which highlighted other Robinson comments but not his statements regarding LGBTQ+ issues.
Robinson is criticized in a recent advertisement for claiming that God prefers men to women as rulers. Additionally, the site features previous Facebook posts where Robinson appears to be defending Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, two convicted sexual predators.
Democrats are likely to take up House Bill 2 and bathrooms as the general election for governor draws near, even though Republicans may not be eager to discuss them. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory cited HB2 as one reason he failed to win re-election in 2016.
Social scientist Cooper claimed, “HB2 was ultimately a losing issue for the Republican Party.” “If it becomes a battle topic once more, that would be best for the Democrats.”
