American academy of pediatrics issues statement on controversial HB2 by Floyd Arthur (PPT) http://carmoongroup.com

1. American Academy of
Pediatrics Issues
Statement on
Controversial HB2
By Floyd Arthur

2. The American Academy of
Pediatrics has issued a
statement calling for the
repeal of

3. North Carolina’s
controversial “bathroom
bill,” otherwise known as
the Public Facilities

4. Privacy and Security Act,
or HB2. Signed into law by
Gov.

5. Pat McCrory on March 23,
the law nullifies a
Charlotte, North Carolina,
ordinance that

6. protected the right of
transgender people to
use the bathroom of their
choice. It also

7. prevents local
communities from
enacting broader legal
protections for the LGBT
community

8. than those defined in
state law and rescinds all
such protections
currently in place.

9. Discrimination in
employment, housing or
public accommodation
based on sexual

10. orientation is not
specifically prohibited by
North Carolina state law.

11. The statement calling for
the law’s repeal was
issued jointly by
American Academy of

12. Pediatrics, which
represents 64,000
physicians nationwide,
and the North Carolina

13. chapter, which
represents
approximately 2,000
pediatricians in the state.
According to

14. chapter president
Deborah Ainsworth, M.D.,
the North Carolina board
unanimously approved

15. the statement, which it
believes is necessary to
protect vulnerable LGBT
youth.

16. “As pediatricians, we
know first-hand how
increasing burdens and
barriers for youth

17. who are lesbian, gay,
bisexual or transgender
can increase their risk of
depression,

18. substance abuse,
dropping out of school, or
suicide,” she said in a
statement on April 18.

19. “We all have a
fundamental
responsibility to support
and nurture children and

20. adolescents to ensure
that they can grow and
develop into healthy
adults,” she added.

21. “Laws like HB2 send a
distressing message to
transgender youth and
can worsen the

22. challenges many already
face. We must do better
for North Carolina's
young people.

23. They're counting on us."

24. The American Academy of
Pediatrics has been
actively advocating for
the rights of LGBT

25. youth for years. In the
face of the growing trend
towards increasingly
discriminatory

26. laws in certain parts of
the United States, in
February it joined several
youth-advocacy

27. groups in a letter urging
governors across the U.S.
to oppose and, if
necessary, veto any

28. bill that allows
discrimination against
the LGBT community. The
letter, which referred

29. to bills such as HB2 as
“shameful,” was also
signed by the American
Counseling

30. Association, the Child
Welfare League of
America, the National
Education Association

31. and the National
Association of School
Psychologists.

32. The AAP joins a long list of
businesses and
organizations that have
expressed outrage

33. over HB2, some of which
have promised to cease
operations in North
Carolina if the bill

34. is not repealed. Adding to
the pressure on the state
legislature were
statements from the

35. Obama administration,
which is reportedly
considering whether the
law -- which

36. violates federal statutes
that prohibit
discrimination based on
sexual orientation -- will

37. affect federal funding for
the state. According to
Department of Education

38. spokesperson Dorie Nolt,
the agency is reviewing
the North Carolina law “to
determine

39. any potential impact on
the state’s federal
education funding,”
which totalled $4.3
billion

40. in 2015. “We will not
hesitate to act if students’
civil rights are being
violated,” she said.

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