Shoreline City Council prohibits all non-essential city-related travel to North Carolina

On September 19, the Shoreline City Council unanimously adopted a resolution prohibiting all non-essential city related travel to the State of North Carolina. The travel ban is in response to the recently passed North Carolina law that revokes local civil rights protections for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Queer (LGBTQ) people across the state.

In March, the North Carolina State Legislature adopted, and North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed into law, North Carolina House Bill 2 (HB2). HB2, in addition to revoking local civil rights protections for LGBTQ people, also reversed the City of Charlotte’s law that would have allowed transgendered people to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity.

The Shoreline City Council believes that North Carolina’s HB2 is inconsistent with the work and values of the City of Shoreline to promote equity and inclusion and to advance social justice for the citizens of Shoreline.

“This is a reflection of Shoreline’s values,” stated Shoreline Mayor Chris Roberts. “We have a responsibility as members of the Council to spend taxpayers’ dollars in a way that is in line with those values.”

The City of Shoreline is a member of the National League of Cities (NLC) and City Councilmembers regularly attend NLC’s annual conference. NLC’s conference will be in Charlotte this year. While Councilmembers applaud the City of Charlotte for taking steps to protect LGBTQ rights, they feel strongly that they cannot expend public monies in good conscience for travel to North Carolina due to the passage of HB2.

The travel ban will stay in place until the North Carolina Legislature has repealed HB2 in its entirety or altered it so that it is no longer discriminatory in nature.