Giambrone Law LGBT Lawyers review new North Carolina Bill

North Carolina’s Governor Pat McCrory recently approved a religious freedom bill, called HB 1523, that allows discrimination against the LGBT community from individuals and institutions. According to the law, people and institution that will refuse service to people from the LGBT community on grounds of their religious beliefs, will not be punished.

Three specific beliefs are covered by the bill:

• Marriage is only between a man and a woman
• Extramarital sex is immoral
• The distinction between “male” and “female” is biologically assigned at birth

People or institution from North Carolina are therefore entitled to refuse helping, for instance, gay couples with adoption or wedding-related services. Moreover, doctors will be entitled to refuse helping patient with sexual reassignment surgery or counselling and Religious organisations will be entitled to fire people on grounds of their sexual orientation.

HB2, also known as the Charlotte Bathroom Bill (or the Public Facilities Privacy and Security act), provides that transexual and transgender people are to use public restrooms according to the gender they are assigned at birth.

Gay marriage in the U.S.A. has been legal since June 2015, when the United States Supreme Court ruled in Obergfell v. Hodges that the state-level bans on gay marriage are unconstitutional. However, the introduction of same-sex marriage in the country was not followedby the introduction of LGBT people in the categories that are protected against discrimination. No federal protection against discrimination of LGBT employee currently exist in the U.S.A, as the Employment Nondiscrimination Act has been repeatedly proposed but never passed.

A significant wave of protests has followed the passing of the bill. LGBT advocacy group have the defined the bill as the most extreme anti-LGBT measure in the history of the country. Moreover, legal action is expected to be taken by Aclu and Equality North Carolina. Moreover, investors such as Paypal, which was meant to invest $3.6 million in Charlotte, N.C. for business expansions, have cancelled their investment plans over the approving of the bill.

Daniel Theron, lawyers for the LGBT Rights and same-sex couples department at London-based Giambrone Law International Law Practice commented: “ The approval of the bill in North Carolina, which was also approved in Mississipi and is meant to be proposed in other states as well, clashes against the principles of the American constitution. Legal action against the bill has been announced and it will surely be successful. Considering how much has been in the U.S.A. for the recognition of the LGBT community, the bill represent a significant step backwards”.

At Giambrone International Legal Practice, we have been serving the legal needs of gay and lesbian clients for over 10 years, offering a wide range of services tailored to the very specific needs of the gay and lesbian clients. Our gay lawyers in the LGBT team have represented gay men and lesbians across the UK and from all over the world and routinely advise couples, individuals and employers on the legal issues connected with same-sex relationships .

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