The National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) is the latest organization to announce its opposition to the controversial North Carolina’s House Bill 2, according to their chairman Brian France.
France told the Associated Press Sports Editors Thursday that the sanctioning body opposes the law that limits legal protections for LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) individuals. Gov. Pat McCrory signed the bill into law March 23.
“We take the position that any discrimination, unintended or not, we do not like that and we are working behind the scenes, and we are not a political institution,” France said. “We don’t set agendas or write laws but we express our values to policy makers. We will and we do. We are real clear about that.”
NASCAR, headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla. has offices in uptown Charlotte and its nearby city Concord.
The sport’s leader also said NASCAR was working “behind the scenes” to help change the law, but not interested in “making a bunch of threats.”
“We try to be part of a solution, not a bunch a threats truthfully; but we are very direct and we do our civic part,” said France. “We like to think we take a lot of out of communities and run events and do business in North Carolina and so when asked to put back into these communities and be part of big and small decisions, we want to be there, but we are one small piece of the fabric. We want to play our role but not overstate our role.”
House Bill 2 sets a statewide definition of protected classes of citizens that doesn’t include sexual orientation and gender identity. HB2 requires transgender people in public facilities in North Carolina use the restroom that corresponds to the gender on their birth certificate.
Motorsport.com reported that also this weekend, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump expressed apprehension with the law. France offered his personal endorsement of the billionaire mogul at a campaign event in Georgia last month.
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