CSCO Cisco Systems Inc

By Jon Kamp and Cameron McWhirter 

U.S. business leaders are speaking out against a new North Carolina law that gets rid of antidiscrimination protections for lesbian, gay and transgender people, as a growing number of city councils, including in Boston and Portland, Ore., ban official travel to the state in protest of the law.

So far, more than 90 chief executives and business leaders signed a letter to North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory describing its new law as "discriminatory legislation." Executives objecting to the law include Brian Moynihan, chief executive of Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp.; Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook; Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg; Cisco Systems Inc. Chief Executive Chuck Robbins; and Salesforce.com Chief Executive Marc Benioff.

The law requires transgender people to use the public bathroom corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate.

State lawmakers intended the law as a rebuke to a Charlotte ordinance that Mr. McCrory said "defied common sense." It would have allowed transgender people to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify. Mr. McCrory, a Republican and former Charlotte mayor, signed the state legislation last week while capping a rush through the N.C. General Assembly.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, a Democrat who is running to replace Mr. McCrory as governor, has said his office won't defend the new law, which he called a "national embarrassment."

But Mr. McCrory has remained defiant, issuing a video message on Tuesday in which he says that North Carolina is the target of a "vicious, nationwide smear campaign."

The "real embarrassment is politicians not publicly respecting each other's positions on complex issues," Mr. McCrory said in the video. "Unfortunately, that has occurred when legislation was passed to protect men, women and children when they use a public restroom, shower or locker-room. That is an expectation of privacy that must be honored and respected."

Hugh McColl Jr., the former CEO of Bank of America and a leader in Charlotte's civic community, said he was disappointed in Mr. McCrory's decision.

"The real truth is that he's trying to roll back time, and you can't do that," Mr. McColl said. "It reflects poorly on him and on our state."

Under Mr. McColl, the bank offered same-sex benefits even before it was a widely accepted practice. "We didn't have judgments about people except for how well they did their job," he said.

Mr. McCrory has local support from KeepNCSafe.org, a coalition of conservative Christian groups and others. The organization plans prayer vigils Thursday across the state, including in front of the governor's mansion.

Yet two civil-rights advocacy groups for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, Human Rights Campaign and Equality NC, released a letter signed by business leaders objecting to the law, and said they plan to deliver it to Mr. McCrory on Thursday.

Business leaders urged Mr. McCrory and state legislators to repeal the law in the next legislative session. In the letter to the governor, they referred to the law's bill number: "We believe that HB 2 will make it far more challenging for businesses across the state to recruit and retain the nation's best and brightest workers and attract the most talented students from across the nation."

Salesforce.com's Mr. Benioff is friendly with Bank of America's Mr. Moynihan and other top executives. On March 24, the day after Mr. McCrory signed the law, the bank issued a statement saying it "has been steadfast in our commitment to nondiscrimination and in our support for LGBT employees through progressive workplace policies and practices."

S. Scott Clackum, a location manager in Charlotte, got up last Friday ready to continue work on "Crushed," a television pilot about a family running a Napa Valley winery that was readying production in the area. Then he received an email from a colleague saying the show was immediately moving to Vancouver because of the legislation.

"Employed one day, unemployed the next," said Mr. Clackum.

"Crushed," which was being developed by Hulu and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., was in its early days of development. But its crew had booked hotel rooms, reserved rental cars and was interviewing would-be workers in anticipation of the shoot. Mr. Clackum said between 150 and 200 production workers were expected to come on board, most of them being local hires.

"We were hitting the ground hot and heavy," said Mr. Clackum, who said he is now picking up day work on commercials but can't count on the steady pay that comes with a television show.

"Never have I been affected so much by a government move," he said.

One television show, "Six," is being produced by A+E Networks, which said Wednesday it will finish the shoot but "not consider North Carolina for any new productions."

There are six productions filming in the state as part of North Carolina's relatively small entertainment grant program, said state Film Commissioner Guy Gaster. All of those are expected to continue shooting in the state.

Meantime, New York City, Seattle and San Francisco, among other cities, banned official trips to North Carolina, as have governors in New York, Washington and Vermont. Seattle Mayor Edward Murray also signed an order that would ban similar travel "to any state that follows North Carolina's footsteps."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's press office estimated his state accounted for about 20 trips to North Carolina in the last fiscal year. He also announced a travel ban to Indiana last year to protest a controversial "religious freedom" law there, but lifted the ban after the state changed course. The original Indiana law drew broad criticism, including from businesses like Indianapolis-based drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co.

Separately, many big businesses had also recently objected to a freshly vetoed law in Georgia that would have provided religious exemptions following last year's Supreme Court ruling backing same-sex marriage.

In North Carolina, Mr. McCrory said that if he didn't sign the bill, "the expectation of privacy of North Carolina citizens could be violated." He said the law wasn't about "demonizing one group of people, " and he said the state is one of "inclusiveness, openness and diversity."

He also singled out Mr. Cuomo, calling the New York Democrat's statements "hypocritical" while noting Mr. Cuomo visited Cuba, "a communist country with a deplorable record of human rights."

Alphonso David, Mr. Cuomo's counsel, said there is a "fundamental difference between legislative action that strips LGBT people of their rights and taking affirmative steps to help change long-standing practices in a foreign country."

--Erich Schwartzel and Christina Rexrode contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 30, 2016 18:49 ET (22:49 GMT)

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