FEATURE
From a Shield to a Sword
Protestors rally in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina to demonstrate against the passage of HB2, the so-called Bathroom Law. Credit: Blue Canary Photography.
The Corrupting of an Important American Value By
Sarah McBride
Throughout the more than 200-year history of the United States, the value and principle of religious freedom has remained at the center of our pursuit of a more perfect union. For much of that history, religious freedom has meant the protection of religious minorities from discrimination or persecution. Unfortunately, over the last several years, forces opposed to equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people have corrupted that value to legitimize animus and discrimination. Beginning in the years prior to the Supreme Court’s historic marriage equality ruling, and increasing in the year since, the shrink118 | Boston Pride 2016
ing anti-equality movement has introduced a record number of antiLGBT bills aimed at codifying discrimination under the laws of their state. In 2015, roughly 150 anti-LGBT bills were introduced in legislatures across the country. This year, that number has approached 200 pieces of legislation in dozens of states. While the bills differ in mechanisms and scope, each grants a license to discriminate against LGBT people and their families. Some utilize a technical power of state governments to rescind local LGBT nondiscrimination ordinances; others bar transgender people from restrooms that correspond with their gender identity. The most com-
