How North Carolina Can Redeem Itself, According To Montel Williams: "This Is Your Moment To Rise"
Montel Williams has slammed North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory over his continued support of the anti-LGBT House Bill 2, which scrapped local anti-discrimination ordinances and forces transgender people to use restrooms that conflict with their gender identity.
The former talk show host is a disheartened Republican who has rejected his party in the current election cycle.
He's been speaking up on behalf of thousands who've done the same since at least July, when he told us at the Republican National Convention that the GOP needs to "stop all the stupid."
"There's still time to do what's right," Williams wrote in an open letter published by Medium.
McCrory, as you may know, has spent thousands in taxpayer dollars defending the anti-LGBT HB2 even after his fellow Republicans pulled back their support. In the last two months, both PayPal and the NCAA have announced they were pulling millions of dollars in business out of the state in direct response to the bill.
In his open letter, Williams says the only responsible thing for McCrory to do now is cut his losses, "call back the legislature, repeal HB2 outright and pass affirmative protections for LGBTQ North Carolinians."
Wrote Williams:
"We both know you think HB2 is a bad idea. In fact, I suspect you support equality for LGBTQ North Carolinians in your heart. I suspect you agree — with the overwhelming majority of North Carolina’s business community — that HB2 jeopardizes the state’s competitiveness.
...
Leadership is hard, and often it means risking it all and standing alone to do what’s right. And that’s what’s needed here. It’s time to stand up to Speaker Tim Moore and Sen. Phil Berger, who’ve championed this bill. It’s time to push back against their “let Raleigh and Charlotte burn” strategy. It’s time to tell the truth — that Alliance Defending Freedom pitched this bill to stir up a frenzy among social conservatives and drive them to the polls in November."
"I’m speaking out because I’m an advocate," Williams wrote in conclusion, but not before blasting McCrory's recent awful anti-trans attack ad as "childish antics."
"I oppose discrimination wherever it rears its ugly head. And HB2 is discrimination, pure and simple," he said. "I also want my kids to see their father on the right side of history."
