Billions in the toilet: how "toilet law" can shake the economy

In March of this year, North Carolina became the first state to have passed a scandalous law that allows the use of toilets in public institutions in accordance with the gender of a person indicated on the birth certificate. The document divided America into two camps: some large corporations, stars of show business and even states declared a boycott of North Carolina, but there are also those who agree with the decision. After all, similar bills can be taken in other states.

ForumDaily found out, using the example of Northern Carolina, how the “toilet law” will affect the state’s economy and affect the life of every American.

Wrong door: the essence of the “toilet law”

From now on, transgender people in North Carolina are allowed to use toilets in public institutions in accordance with their gender, which is indicated on the birth certificate. That is, a transgender male, whose gender in the documents is listed as female, should use only the female toilet. And vice versa. A transgender who considers himself a woman, but in the passport he is a man, is obliged to attend the men's dressing room.

The Carolina authorities have already said that when adopting the law, they primarily thought about security in society. They say men will impersonate transgender people and attack women in women’s toilets. However, in America there has not yet been officially recorded a single attack by transgender people, the newspaper writes qz.com.

However, on March 23, the state legislative and executive authorities passed through the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament in one day by an absolute majority a new “act establishing the presence of persons of the same sex in toilets and locker rooms in municipal buildings and creating uniform rules in the field of hiring and use of public places." North Carolina Republican Governor Pat McCrory signed Act instantly.

Its essence boils down to the fact that transgender people can no longer go to the toilets they want, and employers can safely refuse to employ a transgender person. When the American public revolted, Governor Macrory met the protesters halfway and in April softened some of the language in the law - prohibiting government agencies from refusing to hire employees because of gender identity. But the “toilet” part of the law, despite the public outcry, came into force.

According to LGBT activist Alexei Gorshkov, the Republicans are preparing for the upcoming elections in this way and are already earning points: “The state governor passed such a law because he needs to be re-elected. Due to the popularity of these ideas among large religious organizations, he wants to remain in power, and religious people support him,” says Gorshkov.

Malka Shahar. Photo: facebook.com/shagaraeva

Malka Shahar is a Russian-speaking candidate for the post of member of the New York State Assembly. The woman holds conservative views. She sympathizes with Republicans and opposes same-sex marriage. Despite this, she calls the “toilet law” nothing more than stupidity. The act will affect the work of employees of supervisory authorities, Malka believes:

“Who will monitor violations? This is a big question. How the law will work in practice is unclear. For example, they accused a person of going into the wrong toilet - so what? Now should he be imprisoned or what sanctions will be applied? A person cannot be prohibited from doing what he wants to do, I am speaking in the context of this problem,” says Shahar.

The economic side of the dispute

Employees of the famous Californian Institute Williams Institute conducted a study and found out how much the new law will cost North Carolina.

Professors are trying to convey to society that a law that concerns the rights of the minority will lead to greater financial problems for the majority. In the report, available on the Internet, experts name a specific amount that the state will not receive in addition to federal funding. We are talking about $5 billion. Of this, most of it - $4,7 billion - will be lost by public schools, colleges and universities.

For public schools, the loss of such money will be a disaster. After all, basically, it is at the expense of federal funding in educational institutions that they make repairs and purchase the necessary training equipment.

Financial losses are expected not only in education. In the table below we list the damage figures.

North Carolina has about 10 million residents. Because of the “toilet law,” every person, including children, will not receive at least $500 more from the federal budget.

Today, the state employer has no right to refuse the transgender employment. But the authors of the report suggest that the scandal infringing on the rights of minorities still negatively affect the labor market.

5% of North Carolina's GDP comes from tourism. Every year, travelers brought more than $21 million to the state treasury. And this is just official data. The amount can be safely multiplied by two - the tourism business does not always operate legally.

And just look at the beauty of the state, it seems, there will be few people willing. The authorities in New York, Connecticut, Minnesota, Washington (DC), Vermont banned government officials from traveling to North Carolina. He was advised not to visit the staff for work purposes in 20 of American cities and counties.

One of the cities in the state, High Point, is no longer expecting guests in 2017. It was there that an annual furniture exhibition was held, in which more than half a million representatives of US furniture companies participated. Business contracts brought good money to North Carolina - about $5 billion a year, reports cnn.com.

At the end of March, event organizers announced that the “toilet law” was scaring away participants, and the exhibition, it seemed, would not take place.

The economic crisis in the state will primarily affect ordinary taxpayers, assured employees of the Williams Institute. It is possible that in North Carolina will have to raise local taxes. This is one of the most anticipated solutions to financial problems that the state is about to overwhelm.

Not only officials were drawn into the “toilet” dispute. Many giant companies immediately reacted to the news and took the side of transgender people. Company PayPalremittance frozen a planned investment in North Carolina for $ 24 million

On the website of the human rights organization Human Rights published writing to the governor of North Carolina. Corporate executives such as Apple, Logitech, Twitter, Oracle, Facebook, Airbnb, Y Combinator, Coca-Cola, Tumblr, Reddit, Google, Bank of America, Cisco, demand that the law be repealed.

In total in the list more than 80 American companies. On the official website of the famous Target chain of stores, there was a call for respect for the rights of transgender people.

“We welcome the transgender team. They are all our guests. They can use the restroom that matches their gender identity. Everyone deserves to feel the way they want,” written on Online company.

Musicians also oppose the law. Rock star Bruce Springsteen canceled a show in North Carolina. Even the representatives of the porn video business have joined the music industry. The popular site xHamster.com decided to limit access to the resource for residents of North Carolina.

Famous American film studios Fox, Miramax and The Weinstein Company Lionsgate and the A + E network said they would not shoot TV shows and movies in Carolina.

Some young sportsmen joined the dissenters. So, the famous national university sports association ESPN was planning to hold competitions in the state this year. But now the trip is a big question, say the organizers. Players are also thinking about holding the All-Star Game in Charlotte NBA. Games should take place next year. Basketball players are now considering other venues.

Transgender Reaction

According to the same Williams Institute, there are 336 thousand LGBT people living in North Carolina. Of these, more than 15 thousand are transgender. Researchers note that 41% of transgender youth said they have considered suicide at least once in their lives.

Transgender people say that even in progressive New York, they sometimes run into problems.

“The law protects us. But that doesn't stop New Yorkers from being disgusting. Just a couple of days ago, a young man came up to me and tried to reach under my skirt to expose me and find out who I really am,” transgender Catherine Chambers shared with ForumDaily.

Catherine was born in New York. She has a male in her birth certificate. However, as Catherine admits, since childhood she felt like a woman. Now Chambers is reworking the documents in order to write in them a female name.

In New York, for Catherine Chambers, the doors are open to both men's and women's toilets. But Catherine prefers to use all the same female restrooms.

Catherine’s right to choose, like several thousand New York transgender people, is protected by a new law that signed by Bill de Blasio.

This law applies only to municipal property, such as: city offices, public parks, swimming pools, playgrounds, some museums and recreation centers. There, transgender people are allowed, as they say, both right and left.

“Yes, I am deathly afraid of going to North Carolina. Now the road there is closed for me. I don't know, but maybe there's a crazy governor there. What has he done? This is a crazy plan that will lead to nothing good,” she said.

Point put the Supreme Court

When Pat McCrory received a letter from US Attorney General Loretta Lynch demanding that the “toilet law” be repealed, representatives of the Republican Party in Congress had no doubt that the governor would go to court. And so it happened. And later the US Department of Justice announced a counterclaim. And now the fate of North Carolina is in the hands of the Supreme Court.

In the midst of these battles, Barack Obama seems to be signs directive. In the letter, the president clearly expresses his point of view regarding school restrooms. According to the president, in public schools, transgender students should use the toilet that they consider necessary for themselves.

The letter itself does not have the force of law, but Obama hinted that those schools that do not listen could lose federal funding or even face legal action.

Despite this, some states are willing to lose billions of dollars and years in court to prove their case.

Texas Governor Dan Patrick told reporters that even if the state did not receive $ 10 billion in annual federal funding for schools, he would not back down.

“We hope Texas takes the right path, and we stand with North Carolina. In fact, there is much more at stake here than just money. And we are already talking about the self-identity of the United States,” the official quotes. wsj.com.

Colleagues from other states have already listened to Patrick and filed against the Obama administration lawsuits. The initiators are the states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia, as well as the governor of Maine and the Arizona Department of Education.

For example, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson on his page in Twitter wrote, "Schools in our state will not heed the new federal rules."

Sociologist Sam Krieger believes the federal government has larger problems and challenges. This is, first of all, ensuring the safety of citizens and solving economic issues. As for American society, the “toilet law” will only worsen the already existing division.

“Society is already divided. Issues of taxes, abortion, same-sex marriage. Take any question and it will lead to a split. American democracy has lost its common sense. The less the state interferes in the personal lives of citizens, the freer people will live,” Krieger is sure.

Now everyone is looking forward to the final bout at the Supreme Court, which must make a final decision on the situation in North Carolina.

According to a recent survey published on bbc.com, 44% of US residents believe that public restrooms should be used in accordance with their biological sex. But 39% are confident that toilets should be open to everyone, depending on what gender the person identifies as.

See also:

11 states challenged Obama's decree on transgender toilets in schools

Obama: transgender people will go to the toilet they want

Toilets in New York become transgender

Russian-speaking gays and lesbians start life from scratch in America

The first monument to LGBT rights activists may appear in the USA