A Washington Post article reported on how the “disease” that is House Bill 2 (HB2), a new North Carolina law that requires transgender people to use the bathroom corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates, reflects a dire level of misunderstanding of LGBT people in general. According to the Post, the law's outright bigotry has stirred backlash from celebrities, lawmakers, and businesses, leading to serious economic problems for the state.

The law was sparked by the “bathroom predator” myth that allowing transgender people to use the bathroom consistent with their gender identity could put people in danger. Despite the fact that that myth has been repeatedly debunked, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory did not hesitate to sign HB2 into law, following suit with similar legislation passed by Mississippi and Tennessee that permits discrimination against LGBT people. The law's passage represents a vast misunderstanding of LGBT people, which has sparked protests and boycotts to dismantle anti-LGBT legislation. 

The April 12 article compiled the opinions of protesters who were shocked and disgusted by the law's blatant discrimination towards transgender people, one businessman reflecting that “it's a big sign of how uneducated America is.” Despite right-wing media outlets denouncing these boycotts, the Postwriter showed optimism for change by highlighting the effectiveness in protesters' tactics, noting that “as in all other times when bigotry raises its hideous head, better angels will prevail”:

The law in question was hurriedly passed last month and signed by North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) in response to what one state official called a restroom free-for-all, referring to sudden hysteria over the possibility of transgender individuals using the “wrong” restroom. How would anyone know? Will officials now post monitors at public restrooms to check birth certificates and human bladder-evacuation portals? This would be riotously funny if it weren’t so patently discriminatory.

[...]

“I feel like a traitor going to High Point, putting capitalism before human rights,” he said. “I don’t feel good about that, and I know it’s wrong.” Wooters isn’t only baffled by the bigotry of the legislation but also by whatever generates the fear behind it.

“Why do people feel they have to be afraid? It’s a big sign of how uneducated America is.”

Another local designer, Jamie Merida, owner of Bountiful, told me he decided to go if only to make his case to vendors that they have six months to straighten out this mess or he, too, will be off to Las Vegas next time.

[...]

Although North Carolina has been noted in recent years for its increasingly hard-right politics, it is still shocking that a state that boasts several of the nation’s top colleges and universities and is home to the famed Research Triangle, could codify what is so plainly a discriminatory law. In comments Tuesday, McCrory, feeling the pressure, softened his defense of the law but stopped short of opposing the provision on bathroom use by transsexual people. As in all other times when bigotry raises its hideous head, better angels will prevail. Either the courts will overturn the law or the state will come to its senses, if only for economic reasons.