Why Durham city leaders didn’t vote to oppose NC’s “Parents’ Bill of Rights”
When Durham City Council member Jillian Johnson wrote a resolution opposing Republican bills advancing in the state legislature that she said target LGBTQ youth, she didn’t expect it to be controversial.
But one line in the draft resolution — which opposes the so-called Parents’ Bill of Rights and a bill that would restrict gender-affirming treatment for minors — drove the council to delay voting on it.
The argument centered on the resolution’s second line: “WHEREAS, members of the LGBTQ+ community currently experience the highest rate of hate-motivated violence among all marginalized communities in the US.”
“I don’t know that that’s true. I don’t know that factually, that’s correct,” Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton said. “By far the largest amount of cases are with race.”
That’s true, according to the FBI.
In 2021 roughly 65% of hate crime victims were targeted because of race and ethnicity, about half of them because they were Black, the FBI reported. Nineteen percent were targeted for sexual orientation or gender identity.
But Johnson said the statistics aren’t that simple. She pointed to victimization rates, which are higher for LGBTQ people than Black people when the FBI statistics are compared to population estimates of those groups from the U.S. Census Bureau.
“I used the word ‘rate,’ highest rate, not highest number,” said Johnson, who is bisexual.
“I think we should somehow source that,” Middleton said in response. “As it reads now, I think that’s questionable.”
“I’m sorry, what about it do you feel is questionable? Do you doubt that what I just told you is true? I don’t understand,” Johnson said.
“I’m not going to fall into that trap,” Middleton said. “As it reads now, I can see members of other communities, particularly of the Black community, taking issue with it as it’s framed. So let’s just be precise with the language.”
“It’s an accurate statement and I take issue with the fact that you’re questioning it given that you very rarely question accurate statements in resolutions brought by other people on this council,” Johnson said.
“Hold up, hold up, the mayor’s going to have to jump back in,” Mayor Elaine O’Neal interrupted, giving others around the dais time to chime in.
‘I need Durham to stand up’
The urgency is now, Council member Javiera Caballero said.
“What is happening in this state right now and across the country targeting LGBTQ and trans people is terrifying,” Caballero said. “I need Durham to stand up.”
Senate Bill 49, the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” bans curriculum addressing gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality in kindergarten through fourth grades, The News & Observer reported. It also requires teachers to tell parents if students change their pronouns, potentially outing them.
Republicans passed it along party lines on Tuesday, leaving it in the hands of the state House. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper will likely veto the bill if it reaches his desk, which Republicans would attempt to override. They are one vote short of a supermajority.
House Bill 43, the bill restricting gender-affirming health care, has not yet moved out of committee. The legislature has been in session just two weeks.
In addition to decrying the bills, the resolution also affirms support for LGBTQ+ community members and decries acts of violence and hate.
Council member Leonardo Williams tried to mediate.
“For the record, everybody on this council supports our LGBTQ community. This is what democracy looks like. It’s messy sometimes,” he said, smiling. “I was over whispering with Council member Johnson and I think if we were to just simply make one little wordsmith here, where it says ‘one of the highest rates.’ I think that solves it across the board for us, and she’s perfectly fine with it.”
“I’m not perfectly fine with it,” Johnson said, eventually saying she had no further comment.
Vote will happen Feb. 20
The council doesn’t typically take votes during its Thursday afternoon work sessions, but it can suspend those rules if needed.
“Due to the speed that this legislation is progressing, I will be asking my colleague to suspend the rules and vote on this resolution today rather than wait,” Johnson said. “I think it’s important that we express our opposition.”
Middleton said wordsmithing was part of the process and it would be unprecedented not to allow that.
“This is why we have a work session. We get to massage the language and give our input,” he said.
He proposed another amendment, to replace “protests and demonstrations” with “threats and harassment” that target drag shows and performers.
Ultimately, by 5-2 vote, the council decided not to suspend the rules and let the vote happen Feb. 20. Middleton emphasized this was not a delay, but a denial of a request to speed things up.
Johnson and Caballero cast the ‘no’ votes.
This story was originally published February 9, 2023 at 7:12 PM.
