Tens of thousands call on All-Star Game to relocate from N. Carolina

NORTH CAROLINA — As more and more companies pull out of North Carolina in the wake of the state's draconian new anti-LGBTQ laws, a new petition from UltraViolet, a national women's advocacy organization, is urging Nike and PepsiCo, among the chief sponsors of previous NBA All-Star Games, not to sponsor the 2017 All-Star Game as long as it is kept in North Carolina.  

North Carolina's new anti-LGBTQ law, passed in March, prevents transgender individuals from using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity, nullifies existing LGBTQ protections passed by North Carolina cities, and prevents the those cities from passing future anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBTQ individuals.  

More than 40,000 UltraViolet members have signed on to the petition since it launched earlier this week.  With dozens of major companies like Paypal having already condemned North Carolina's law and having moved to relocate new business ventures out of the State, the petition asks PepsiCo and Nike, who have previously been outspoken in their support for the LGBTQ community, to join with thousands of people around the country and pressure the NBA to move the 2017 All-Star Game to a State that doesn't have laws discriminating against LGBTQ individuals.

See the petition here: http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/nba_sponsors_allstar

"North Carolina's new anti-LGBTQ law, which was passed under the guise of protecting women, is an extreme attack on LGBTQ women in the State and a threat to all LGBTQ people everywhere.   These laws allow employers in North Carolina to fire LGBTQ persons solely on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity and overturn the will of voters in cities across North Carolina who have rightfully chosen to protect LGBTQ people from this type of discrimination," explained Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of UltraViolet.  

"The NBA, along with chief sponsors of previous All-Star Games, PepsiCo and Nike, have the opportunity to send a clear signal to North Carolina politicians, and other elected officials looking to pass similar measures in other states, that businesses and the American people reject these hateful and discriminatory laws."

The Gayly - 4/8/2016 @ 9:43 a.m. CST