Last month, Gov. Pat McCrory and the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 2, a bill to address Charlotte’s misguided bathroom ordinance.

Charlotte’s bathroom ordinance would have created a public safety loophole allowing predators to use women’s bathrooms, showers or locker rooms under false pretenses. Many parents, businesses and citizens expressed serious concerns and the state legislature wisely stepped in to overturn this ordinance.

Now, North Carolina is the target for radical liberal activists who have helped stir up backlash. However, when you take a closer look at some of those businesses and officials who have spoken out against HB2, it doesn’t take long to find glaring hypocrisies.

Last week, PayPal announced it was cancelling plans to build a global operations center in Charlotte because HB2 “violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture.”

Meanwhile, PayPal does business in 25 countries where homosexual behavior is illegal, including five countries where the penalty is death. May I ask PayPal why these actions aren’t in violation of its values and principles, but North Carolina overturning a misguided ordinance about letting men into the women’s bathroom is?

Perhaps PayPal would like to try and clarify this seemingly very hypocritical position.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently signed an executive order banning all non-essential state travel to North Carolina due our “discriminatory” law. This came about a year after he led a delegation of nearly a dozen New York-based businesses to visit Cuba.

May I ask Governor Cuomo why he encourages businesses to open up shop in a country that continues to harbor terrorists and commit countless human rights abuses, but can’t stomach having public officials travel to a state that requires citizens to use the bathroom of the gender on their birth certificate?

Syracuse recently played in the Final Four in Houston, where voters overwhelmingly rejected a nearly identical bathroom ordinance. Why didn’t Governor Cuomo ask the Syracuse team to boycott the game in Houston?

How about the National Basketball Association? Not even a week after saying it is considering moving its All-Star game from Charlotte due to HB2, the NBA announced its commitment to growing its presence in China by scheduling two preseason games in China next season as part of the NBA’s Global Games China series.

Is the NBA unaware China jails political dissidents, suppresses religious freedom and consistently engages in cyber-attacks against the United States? Or do they find these offenses less serious than a common-sense law most North Carolinians agree with?

If you only read the New York Times or Charlotte Observer, you might be under the impression that HB2 explicitly allows for discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, the law establishes a statewide anti-discrimination policy in North Carolina which is tougher than the federal government’s. Furthermore, towns, cities, counties and private businesses are still allowed to set stricter non-discrimination policies for their own employees if they choose.

The backlash we’ve seen is simply the result of a coordinated effort to express selective outrage during an election year.

Quite frankly, North Carolinians are tired of radical activists’ lies, hypocrisy and grievance culture. It’s time to stand up for common sense.

WEEKLY UPDATE

Last week, I traveled to Latin America for a series of meetings with foreign leaders to discuss efforts to combat terrorism financing. The nexus between radical Hezbollah, Latin American drug lords and Iran is a growing threat to America’s national security. Our efforts are to strengthen collaboration with important allies on protocols to intercept terrorism financing while encouraging compliance and support from those countries not fully cooperating.

Thirty-five high school students from Charlotte, Matthews, Waxhaw, Weddington, Cornelius, Mooresville and Harrisburg have submitted entries for the 2016 Congressional Art Competition. Help us select the five finalists by “liking” your favorite piece on my Facebook page at Facebook.com/CongressmanPittenger.

Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-Charlotte, represents North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, which will include Richmond County under new congressional district maps awaiting federal approval.

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Robert Pittenger

Contributing Columnist