Civil and Human Rights Coalition Applauds Justice Department Leadership on Anti-LGBT North Carolina Law

WASHINGTON - May 4, 2016 – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice informed North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory that the anti-LGBT law HB2 violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and that enforcement of HB2 could lead to a federal lawsuit and the loss of millions in state education funding:

"North Carolina has sacrificed jobs, its standing in the nation, and its moral compass in defense of this repugnant law. We hope that today's letter from the Justice Department will convince the state that the costs of codifying hate into state law are simply too high to ignore.

Gov. McCrory has ignored his own constituents, clergy, the business community, and civil rights advocates. Will he now willfully violate the bedrock Civil Rights Act of 1964?  Will he ignore the potential loss of millions of dollars in federal funding to educate North Carolinians for the jobs of the future? Will he continue to put his state's LGBT students and employees in harm's way?  

We applaud Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for her leadership and urge North Carolina to repeal HB2."

Wade Henderson is president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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