We talked about the recently enacted North Carolina "bathroom law" that mandates what bathroom a transgender person could use as well as some states' initiatives to allow businesses to refuse service based on sexual orientation. A more conservative colleague wondered what the big deal was all about, since these instances would likely be few and far between. If that is reason to let the states turn back time, why does an even bigger rarity like voter fraud have Republicans pushing often stringent voter ID laws that disproportionately limit participation by young people and minorities? I often hear "let's send a message" when right leaning zero-tolerance positions are espoused. I say we need to make it perfectly clear to anyone who wants to exclude people based on a range of labels that wholesale discrimination based on "religious liberty" or "states' rights" is unacceptable. Let's not kid ourselves. These "little tweaks" in the law won't mean the right wing is done with pushing their agenda back to the "good old days."
