New York state — including members of the Syracuse University community — is making it clear that LGBTQ rights are human rights in response to the recent passing of discriminatory laws in North Carolina and Mississippi.

The Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act (HB2), signed by North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, prevents individuals from using public restrooms that do not correspond with their biological sex. But the ignorance doesn’t stop there, considering the act also restricts cities from passing anti-discrimination bills that would ensure equality.

New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo has since set restrictions on any non-essential, state-sponsored travel to North Carolina and Mississippi because they have passed legislation that infringes on the rights of these marginalized groups.

Cuomo deserves a round of applause. It’s inevitable for there to be differences in opinion between communities and individuals, but if it weren’t for the state of New York advocating for its citizens, injustice would be much more widespread. If something as senseless as bathroom restrictions can make it all the way through the general assembly, it just goes to show that injustice and discrimination are as alive as ever.

While North Carolina passed HB2 under the pretense of safety precautions, the state of Mississippi passed a similar bill on the grounds of religious beliefs. Regardless of each state’s justification, the effect is the same: The bills are ultimately homophobic and transphobic. North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore said to CNN that the bill had everything to do with privacy and safety, yet didn’t take into consideration that this bill clearly infringes on the privacy and safety of the LGBTQ community.

Sandra Lane, a professor of public health and anthropology at SU’s David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, was recently invited to give a distinguished lecture this coming fall in honor of Walter Bo and Charles McCreight at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Having already accepted the invitation prior to the passing of HB2, Lane sent a follow-up email declining, explaining that attending the lecture would be hypocritical of her.

While anything that happens in the restroom is no one’s business, it is made our concern when our transgender and gender non-conforming friends, classmates and family members are being punished for being themselves, for being human. All efforts to ban non-essential travel and to withdraw commerce from the state are reasonable reactions in the face of legislative discrimination.

It’s important that we all take notes from Lane’s actions and learn to be advocates for the LGBTQ individuals, because they are a part of the greater community as well. According to the Movement Advancement Project, 3.3 percent of adults in North Carolina identify as LGBTQ. Legislative leaders like McCrory can’t expect to create any sense of safety within the state if 246,363 of its individuals are being attacked.

“I think that it’s already hard for LGBTQ youth even in states that don’t have (discriminatory) laws. There are still elevated rates of suicide and depression and substance abuse because of the stress and shame and the feelings that there is no one out there for them,” said Lane, who is also a research professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Upstate Medical University.

Not only is McCrory trying to micromanage the lives of the trans* community down to the last flush, but he is preventing the passing of any anti-discriminatory laws that protect these individuals. Unlike McCrory, Cuomo aims to create an environment that embraces all of New York’s citizens, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

“From Stonewall to marriage equality, our state has been a beacon of hope and equality for the LGBT community, and we will not stand idly by as misguided legislation replicates the discrimination of the past,” said Cuomo in a recent statement.

And state intervention from leaders like Cuomo is key, considering Lane said that discriminatory legislation may reinforce the pain that LGBTQ youth experience while growing up.

“It’s hard enough to figure out who you are without your society telling you that who you know yourself to be is wrong,” said Lane.

Lane is not the only advocate who has taken a stand against this anti-LGBTQ legislation. Across the state of North Carolina, campus communities enraged by the bill have held demonstrations in an effort to express their disapproval. Students at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte held a protest and created a petition, while students at the Wilmington campus decided to form a peaceful sit-in in front of the university’s bathrooms.

This uprise of awareness and proactivity among North Carolina residents is a visual representation of the obvious mistake that was made in passing this bill. Although the bill is generally accepted by these lawmakers, the next generation of activists and politicians are the same students that are sitting in front of public restrooms now.

According to the Trevor Project, a national organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth, about half of young transgender people have seriously thought about taking their lives, and one quarter report having made a suicide attempt. Knowing these harsh facts puts into perspective who the bill is really trying to protect — certainly it isn’t the trans* lives that have been lost and the individuals who currently struggle with their sense of self and identity.

We cannot simplify human beings to their biological makeup, sexual orientation, physical appearance or a sign on a bathroom door and New York should be commended for standing its ground.

Ivana Pino is a freshman political science major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at ivpino@syr.edu.

Published on April 11, 2016 at 12:07 am