Almost seven years after North Carolina repealed the “bathroom bill,” which caused economic strife and national outrage, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is bringing up the subject of trans people’s bath needs.
Robinson suggested that people who had previously identified as men may be “arrested” if they used a women’s restroom during recent campaign speeches. He advises them to “find a corner outside there” to relieve themselves instead.
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 are confused, get a spot outside somewhere to go,” in an earlier Greenville conversation. “Because of this, we are never destroying the world.”
When WUNC sent inquiries requesting explanation on Robinson’s position on toilet requirements, a spokeswoman for the Robinson campaign declined to comment. He didn’t respond to inquiries about the lieutenant governor’s desire to reinstate legislation akin to House Bill 2.
The “bathroom bill,” a law that was passed in 2016 in response to Charlotte’s new 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 certificates.
HB2 was criticized for being unjust to the LGBTQ+ community, which led some businesses to boycott North Carolina. The state was partially barred from hosting collegiate sports championships by the NCAA.
In a deal reached by Gov. Roy Cooper and lawmakers from the GOP, the legislation was largely repealed in 2017. Since then, even as the GOP pursues other transgender-related restrictions, bathrooms haven’t received much attention. The government outlawed gender-affirming care for transgender children under the age of 18 last year, and it also forbade 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 the majority of Republicans, but I would anticipate him bringing up this subject repeatedly… I believe this will not be the last time Mark Robinson brings up topics like trans rights and bathrooms, as well as what he believes is 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—released a statement via spokesman that made no mention of the subject.
“If Mark Robinson is the nominee, he will drop and harm all GOP candidates,” according to an email from official Alex Baltzegar. “His disparaging remarks about people and the Holocaust, along with his humiliating remarks, may ruin GOP chances of winning the White House 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 feels that those rules need to be tightened, then they really work on that.” “Simply put, I believe there are a lot of regulations that need to be upheld.”
Folwell criticized the GOP frontrunner’s history of disparaging remarks made about a variety of organizations. He claimed that he is the most recent case in history of someone who uses telling people to hate in order to gain power.
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 asserting that God calls people to serve as leaders rather than people. Additionally, the website shows previous Facebook posts where Robinson appears to be defending Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein, two convicted sexual predators.
Liberals 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 was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election in 2016.
According to social scientist Cooper, “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.”
