With Trumpocalypse a few weeks away, it may be tempting to assume, rightfully so, that the new administration will be tone-deaf to progressive causes. However, we have to hang onto a glimmer of hope that someone — anyone — who has the ear of the president-elect and his top advisors will understand the reality that marginalizing LGBT Americans is not a smart move.
To support that notion, all they have to do is look to North Carolina. Election Day was a boon for the Republican Party in the South, as the Trump victory swept the GOP into state offices and to greater majorities in legislatures. But, one office that withstood the GOP wave was the North Carolina governor’s seat.
A month after Election Day, incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory finally conceded to Democrat Roy Cooper. Pundits squarely put McCrory’s loss in his championing of HB 2, controversial legislation that forces transgender individuals to use restrooms and facilities that match their birth-assigned sex and strips local-level LGBT-nondiscrimination protections. It was blasted as the most anti-LGBT measure in the nation — and not only made McCrory the target of LGBT and progressive organizing, but also fostered strong pushback from the corporate sector. Businesses pulled investments from the state, and even the National Collegiate Athletic Association yanked its championship games.
The wallet of North Carolina took a hit but the real impact of McCrory’s efforts to codify LGBT discrimination weren’t realized until Election Day (or four weeks later, when he finally threw the towel in). Even though a majority of the state voted for Trump, they still sent a decisive message with their votes for Cooper that oppressing LGBT people is not going to cut it in 2016.
Trump’s victory dealt a serious blow to the optimism many in the LGBT community had grown accustomed to from having an LGBT-supportive president for the past eight years. But Cooper’s victory is the shining beacon we all need right now.
North Carolina went red. It’s a largely rural, middle-class state, Trump’s bread and butter. But still, its voters took a stand against a politician who sought to use his position to restrict rights.
Politicians generally have a self-serving nature, and Trump fits that mold to a T. If he’s smart (?), he’ll recognize McCrory’s missteps and not make the same ones himself — or let those under his purview do the same.