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At noon today, NC Family president John L. Rustin issued a formal request to Governor Pat McCrory, N.C. Senate Leader Phil Berger and N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore to call for a Special Session of the N.C. General Assembly to repeal “the highly controversial and hazardous ordinance changes” recently adopted by the Charlotte City Council. The ordinance changes, which are scheduled to go into effect on April 1, would allow men to go into women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms across the City of Charlotte and put business owners at risk of being legally punished for their sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage and human sexuality.

In the letter, Rustin states, “The North Carolina Family Policy Council urges you to call the North Carolina General Assembly into a special session prior to the effective date of the Charlotte ordinance changes of April 1, 2016, for the purpose of enacting legislation that will prevent the Charlotte ordinance changes from going into effect and that will preempt any other municipality or county in the state from enacting a similar ordinance.”

In addition to issuing this formal request, Rustin is calling on citizens across North Carolina to join him in contacting Governor McCrory, Senator Berger and Speaker Moore to impress upon them the importance of calling a special session prior to April 1 to repeal Charlotte’s actions and to prevent other cities and counties from doing the same thing!

Please contact these state leaders TODAY, and let them know that you want a special session to be called! Phone calls are most effective. Please call now!

• Governor Pat McCrory – (919) 814-2000
• N.C. Senate Leader Phil Berger – (919) 733-5708
• N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore – (919) 733-3451 

In his letter, Rustin outlines the dangers of the ordinance changes and the violations it represents with respect to privacy and safety, religious liberty, and the proper role of city and county governments in North Carolina. The following are excerpts from the letter:

• Privacy and Safety– The ordinance changes adopted by the Charlotte City Council mean “that men can enter women’s restrooms, shower rooms, bathhouses, and similar facilities in any ‘public accommodation’ in the City of Charlotte. This would place the privacy, safety, and dignity of women, children, the elderly, and others at great risk of physical, emotional and/or mental harms inherent with unexpectedly encountering an individual of the opposite sex in a facility that is deemed to be private.”

• Religious Liberty– “The Charlotte City Council has chosen to violate the religious liberties of many citizens—especially business people and others operating ‘public accommodations’—and force them to accept and embrace the Council’s extremely liberal view of marriage and human sexuality.” These actions “directly violate [the] constitutionally protected right to religious liberty, which our Founders considered to be our first and most cherished right.” The letter continues, “Neither the City of Charlotte, nor any other municipality or county government in the state, should be authorized to impose such an unconstitutional mandate as a condition of doing business. If the ordinance changes approved by the Charlotte City Council are not repealed IN FULL, the Governor and North Carolina General Assembly—at the very least—will be giving their tacit approval to this unconstitutional policy.”

• Proper Role of Local Governments– In North Carolina, “cities and counties derive the full extent of their authority only from the North Carolina Constitution and acts passed by the State Legislature. The North Carolina General Assembly has granted neither the City of Charlotte nor any other city in the state the authority to create the protected classifications of ‘sexual orientation,’ ‘gender identity,’ and ‘gender expression.’”

Rustin concludes the letter by stating, “If the ordinance changes adopted by the City of Charlotte are allowed to stand, they will serve as a precedent for other city and county governments to follow. This will lead to a further undermining of proper governmental authority in North Carolina and a growing patchwork of disparate ordinances across the state in these and other policy areas.”

TAKE ACTION: Download and review the entire letter, and be sure to contact our state leaders and urge them to call for a special session before April 1.