NC lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 516 this week that would limit rights of transgender individuals, including bathrooms in public spaces.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On Monday, LGBTQ+ advocates will observe International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day to celebrate the community and bring awareness to the discrimination transgender individuals face.
Between multiple moves to limit transgender rights at the state and federal level, local advocates say this year has a different tone.
“We’ve learned over the past several years that just presenting legislation like this, like all that we are seeing on different state levels and national level, just that alone has increased people’s stress level and lack of a sense of safety in our communities,” Holly Savoy said.
Savoy is the Executive Director of Charlotte Trans Health, a collective of healthcare providers that are trained in providing safe, gender-affirming care.Â
She specifically cited Senate Bill 516, legislation introduced just this week in the North Carolina Senate. It would significantly limit statewide transgender rights, including defining ‘sex’ as only male and female as well as restricting people from changing their gender on birth certificates and IDs after reassignment surgery.
It would also require transgender individuals to use the bathroom or locker room of their biological sex in public schools and prisons, drawing parallels to the controversial House Bill 2 from 2016 that sparked nationwide debate and economic backlash.Â
“Just further creates more discrimination, more opportunities for harassment, more cost to our community to try to enforce all of this that’s very hard to enforce,” Savoy said. “A lot more resources are needed to help people navigate feelings unsafe in our communities, so our services become that much more important and needed.”
These impacts are also coming from the federal government, including President Trump’s recent executive order preventing transgender women from participating in women’s sports.Â
Elissa Miller at Time Out Youth, a Charlotte-area nonprofit that provides support for LGBTQ+ kids and young adults, says they’re already seeing a steep increase in need.
“We saw more new young people last month than we’d seen all of the previous year in one month,” Miller said. “Being a queer young person right now is very difficult. Their very identities are kind of under debate, in the spotlight. Decisions are being made about them, without them.”
Time Out Youth’s resources include housing assistance and counseling. Both Miller and Savoy encourage people to reach out for support or to learn more about their organizations.
Contact Julie Kay at juliekay@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
