PUBLISHED:April 21, 2016

Members of Duke Law, Sanford School of Public Policy faculty and administration call for repeal of HB 2

Members of the Duke Law School faculty have authored a statement voicing their opposition to North Carolina House Bill 2, a law that they say “excludes members of the LGBTQ community from legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” The statement, along with 152 signatures from Law School faculty, staff, and administration, was sent to state legislators and Gov. Pat McCrory on April 21. A letter in support of the Law School statement, written by members of the faculty and staff of Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy, along with 68 signatures, was also sent to the legislature and Governor.

Statement

We, the undersigned members of the Duke Law School faculty and administration, declare our strong opposition to North Carolina House Bill 2 (HB2). 

We value every member of our community and are committed to creating an educational environment at Duke Law School that affirms all students, staff, and faculty and that affirms the lived experiences and human rights of LGBTQ persons.  We believe that everyone should live, work, and go to school in a state that does not tolerate discrimination.

We oppose HB2 because it excludes members of the LGBTQ community from legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and because it prohibits local governments from enacting nondiscrimination ordinances. Not only does HB2 allow discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, but it also takes away existing rights to sue in state court for discrimination based on race, gender, religion, national origin, disability, and age.  North Carolina courts should have the authority to enforce the nondiscrimination laws of our state, and individuals who have been harmed by illegal discrimination should have access to our courts to vindicate their rights.

We likewise believe that transgender persons attending public schools or visiting public agencies should be free to choose restrooms consistent with their gender identity, a choice that HB2 makes unlawful. Local schools, universities, and agencies have been developing thoughtful solutions to these issues and should not be held back in these constructive efforts.

The bias underlying HB2 is hurtful for LGBTQ persons and their families. HB2 also makes North Carolina less inclusive, welcoming, and diverse. Governor McCrory’s Executive Order purports to address criticisms of the law by business and community leaders, but in fact falls far short of correcting HB2’s many harms.

We therefore call on the North Carolina General Assembly and Governor McCrory to repeal House Bill 2 in its entirety.

  • Sarah Adamczyk
  • Matthew Adler
  • John Ahlers
  • Jane Bahnson
  • Tia Barnes
  • Katharine T. Bartlett
  • Lawrence Baxter
  • Sara Sun Beale
  • Suze M. Bear
  • Robert A. Beason
  • Jennifer Behrens
  • Stuart Benjamin
  • Adam Benson
  • Brenda Berlin
  • Donald H. Beskind
  • Erin M. Biggerstaff
  • Kenworthey Bilz
  • Joseph Blocher
  • Miguel A. Bordo
  • Stella Boswell
  • James Boyle
  • Paul G. Brach
  • Curtis Bradley
  • Kathryn W. Bradley
  • Rachel Brewster
  • Elizabeth Brooks
  • Jean Brooks
  • Erika Buell
  • Samuel W. Buell
  • Kim D. Burrucker
  • Jennifer Caplan
  • Paul Carrington
  • Guy Charles
  • Sean Chen
  • George C. Christie
  • Sally A. Christodoulou
  • Lee E. Cloninger
  • Doriane Coleman
  • James E. Coleman, Jr.
  • Jim Cox
  • Frances Curran
  • Richard Danner
  • Elisabeth de Fontenay
  • S. Hannah Demeritt
  • Deborah A. DeMott
  • Diane Dimond
  • Julia C. DiPrete
  • Michael Dockterman
  • Melanie Dunshee
  • Bruce Elvin
  • Sara E. Emley
  • Nita Farahany
  • Joel L. Fleishman
  • Marilyn R. Forbes
  • Andrew H. Foster
  • John Fuscoe
  • Daniel Gitomer
  • Sandra L. Good
  • Rachel Gordon
  • Sara Sternberg Greene
  • Lisa Kern Griffin
  • Elizabeth Gustafson
  • Paul H. Haagen
  • Janse Conover Haywood
  • Laurence R. Helfer
  • Susan Hicks
  • Mark Hill
  • Charles Holton
  • William J. Hoye
  • Jayne Huckerby
  • Lewis Hutchison
  • David W. Ichel
  • Tonya Jacobs
  • Trina Jones
  • Zoey Kernodle
  • Deb Kinney
  • Jack Knight
  • Oleg Kobelev
  • Kim Krawiec
  • Kristi Kumpost
  • Adriane Kyropoulos
  • Amanda Lacoff
  • Jamie Lau
  • Maggie Lemos
  • David F. Levi
  • Marin K. Levy
  • Phyllis Lile-King
  • Ryke Longest
  • Mimi Lukens
  • Sandie MacLachlan
  • Joan Ames Magat
  • Jennifer Maher
  • Brad Mallard
  • Valerie Marino
  • Leigh Marquess
  • Carolyn McAllaster
  • Stephen Merrill
  • Thomas Metzloff
  • Ralf Michaels
  • Darrell Miller
  • Wayne Miller
  • Frances Turner Mock
  • Madeline Morris
  • Marguerite Most
  • Jeremy Mullem
  • Katy Musolino
  • Theresa A. Newman
  • Forrest Norman
  • Michelle B. Nowlin
  • Lucie Olejnikova
  • Andrew Park
  • Abby Phillips
  • Roger Poff
  • Frances Presma
  • Alison Prince
  • Jeff Powell
  • Jedediah Purdy
  • Jo Ann Ragazzo
  • Arti Rai
  • Diane A. Reeves
  • Jena L. Reger
  • Allison Rice
  • Rebecca Rich
  • Barak Richman
  • Stephen Sachs
  • Richard Schmalbeck
  • Christopher Schroeder
  • Steven L. Schwarcz
  • Laura M. Scott
  • Emily Sharples
  • Wickliffe Shreve
  • Kenneth D. Sibley
  • Neil Siegel
  • Janet V. Silber
  • Balfour S. Smith
  • Tracy Soderberg
  • Emily J. Spiegel
  • Casey Thomson
  • Michael E. Tigar
  • René Stemple Trehy
  • Curt Twiddy
  • Melinda M. Vaughn
  • Neil Vidmar
  • Michael B. Waitzkin
  • Jeff Ward
  • Mark H. Webbink
  • Jonathan B. Wiener
  • Jane Wettach
  • Ann M. Yandian
  • Larry Zelenak
  • Victoria Zellefrow
  • Taisu Zhang
 

We, the undersigned members of the faculty and staff at the Sanford School of Public Policy, support the petition from colleagues at the Duke Law School in opposition to the North Carolina House Bill 2 (HB2).

  • Jennie Copeland
  • Matthew R. Edwards
  • Rita Keating
  • Mary Jacobs
  • Rebekah Kennedy
  • Kendal Marie Swanson
  • Kim Krzywy
  • Susan Alexander
  • Robyn Schmidt
  • Misty Brindle
  • Heather B. Griswold
  • Suzanne Valdivia
  • Lisa J. Kukla
  • Bruce R. Kuniholm
  • Diego Quezada
  • Phyllis Pomerantz
  • Mac McCorkle
  • Kristin Goss
  • Marissa Rosen
  • Frank Webb
  • Mary Lindsley
  • Stephanie Lowd
  • Julia Barnes-Weise
  • Cory Campbell
  • Sarah Burrichter
  • Matthew Harding
  • Philip J. Cook
  • Judith Kelley
  • M. Giovanna Merli
  • Misha Angrist
  • Susan Carroll
  • Manoj Mohanan
  • Victoria L. Grice
  • Elizabeth Oltmans Ananat
  • Stan Paskoff
  • Kurt L. Meletzke
  • Julian Xie
  • Donna Dyer
  • David Schanzer
  • Carol Jackson
  • Bruce W. Jentleson
  • Gavin Yamey
  • Sonya Fischer
  • Sarah Zoubek
  • Robert E. Wright
  • Charles Clotfelter
  • Kenneth Dodge
  • Ellis Hankins
  • Steve Schewel
  • Deondra Rose
  • Eric Mlyn
  • Kathryn Whetten
  • Candice Odgers
  • John F Burness
  • Jenni Owen
  • Kelly Brownell
  • Erika Hanzely-Layko
  • Gunther Peck
  • Cory Krupp
  • Helene McAdams
  • Karen Novy
  • Cheryl Bailey
  • Elizabeth Frankenberg
  • Susan James
  • Madeline Carrig
  • Amy Dominello Braun
  • William C. Eacho
  • Billy Pizer