If someone you know suddenly sprinted to the nearest cliff and belly-flopped over the side, would you follow?
To some folks in Texas, the answer apparently is yes.
The Lone Star State’s Republican lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, is fiercely pushing a bill that requires persons to use public bathrooms that correspond to the gender on their birth certificates.
Even after witnessing the havoc created by North Carolina’s own sweeping and cynical “bathroom law,” House Bill 2, Patrick, and at least a few others, are still hankerin’ for a bill of their own. They could call it HB Too. We’d call it a bad idea.
Not to sound disrespectful, but do the Eyes of Texas need glasses? Haven’t they seen how HB 2 has cost North Carolina as much as $600 million in jobs, tourism and events?
How it lost a sitting governor in North Carolina his re-election bid?
How it has tainted the state’s image as a place to live, visit and do business?
How it stripped other rights and protections that had nothing to do with gender?
And how it especially has hurt cities like Greensboro, which already was struggling to replace thousands of jobs that had vanished even before the Great Recession?
All that notwithstanding, Patrick was perfectly giddy when a bipartisan deal to repeal HB 2 in the North Carolina legislature imploded in late December. In a gleeful statement on Dec. 22 he wrote: “I congratulate the conservative legislators in North Carolina and the leadership of my good friend, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, for standing firm on principle and public safety.”
Instead of a cautionary tale, Patrick sees inspiration.
Fortunately, not everyone in Texas is so enthused. In a December news conference, the Texas Business Association cautioned that lawmakers had better look before they leap (something North Carolina’s failed to do).
Citing a St. Edwards University study, the TAB noted that a Texas version of HB 2 could cost the state as much as $8 billion in economic impact and 100,000 jobs. “The message from the Texas business community is loud and clear,” TAB President Chris Wallace said. “Protecting Texas from billions of dollars in losses is simple: Don’t pass unnecessary laws that discriminate against Texans and our visitors.”
The Republican House leader in Texas also expressed his misgivings. “This isn’t the most urgent concern of mine,” Speaker Joe Strauss told NPR.
Meanwhile, further attempts to repeal HB 2 in North Carolina seem likely. But who knows? With an unpredictable, GOP-controlled legislature and a new Democratic governor in Roy Cooper struggling to come to terms, this may be harder than it needs to be. And take longer than it should.
Our best advice to Texas on HB Too? We wouldn’t if we were you. Yes, you have oil wealth and a much bigger economy. The repercussions may hurt you less than they have us. But they will hurt.
Other states plan to float similar legislation. A Virginia lawmaker filed an HB 2-like bill Wednesday. But you’re Texas. You go your own way.
Oh, and one more thing: As we’ve already learned in the land of the long-leaf pine and college hoops, it’s a lot easier to dig this hole than to climb out of it.
— The Greensboro News & Record