Asheville – The federal government has longstanding nondiscrimination laws, and the City of Asheville has ordinances reaffirming those laws. At their last meeting, Asheville City Council was going to approve yet another resolution, this one “reaffirming support of Asheville’s LGBTQIA+ community.” The matter was removed from the consent agenda, with approval postponed. Mayor Esther Manheimer assured everybody within earshot that all on council were very supportive of the sentiment of the resolution; people were just having problems coming together on some of the wording.
As it was written, the resolution cited hate crimes against the LGBTQIA+ community as its raison d’etre. It said, “Mass shootings by domestic terrorists at LGBTQIA+ gathering spaces such as Club Q and Pulse have created fear and trauma in LGBTQIA+ communities across the country,” and “events celebrating the existence, success, and achievement of Asheville’s LGBTQIA+ community are often subject to harassment and disruption by a very small population.”
Furthermore, the resolution complained that the community was further oppressed by federal anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation plus 474 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills filed by states. Three examples of this type of legislation were given:
1. “Legislation that would explicitly prohibit Asheville’s educators from using ‘locally developed curricula,” which reflects our community’s values and provides accurate information about the existence, experiences, and history of all our residents, including our LGBTQIA+ neighbors.”
2. “Legislation that would unfairly restrict the ability of Asheville’s transgender and gender-nonconforming residents to equally participate in ‘interscholastic or intramural athletic activities’ by creating new ‘biological participation requirements’ based on new interpretations of sex and gender.”
3. “legislation that would limit the ability of Asheville’s residents to access medical care, especially reproductive healthcare and gender-affirming healthcare, by reducing access to funding and criminalizing procedures.”
The resolution concluded by saying city council condemned all violence, hatred, and discrimination” against LGBTQIA+ people, spaces, and events; that it opposed “all legislation that erodes the safety, health, civil rights, and bodily autonomy of this group;” and that it “committed to using all of the tools at our disposal to shield residents from the harmful impacts of such legislation.”
Another resolution that was unanimously approved that night was one “affirming the right of all North Carolinians to safe and comprehensive reproductive healthcare.” This resolution began, “Whereas, healthcare is a fundamental human right, and access to gender-affirming, full-spectrum, and comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including abortion, contraception, prenatal care, labor and delivery services, and postpartum care, is necessary for overall health and wellbeing.”
This resolution “condemned the criminalization of providing essential healthcare, including full-spectrum reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare,” such as the overthrow of Roe v. Wade and North Carolina’s House Bill 20, which “limits the rights of women and pregnant people” and would “erect new barriers to the provision of healthcare that are medically unnecessary.”
The resolution explains that this opposition is anti-discriminatory because “the impact of abortion restrictions is predominantly realized by those who already experience disparities in healthcare, including people working to make ends meet; Black, Indigenous, and People of Global Majority; people with disabilities; immigrants of all statuses; members of the LGBTQIA+ community; and people who live in rural areas.” This, “medical professionals say, will lead to preventable deaths.”
When the floor was opened for public comment, Nikki Harris, who is the director of philanthropy for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, scanned the dais and began, “OK. Thank you for the invitation today.” She said, “Things are hard in North Carolina right now, and the Asheville Health Center has really seen the effect of the reversal of Roe last June. Abortion patients have increased by 189 percent.” She added, “We value diversity. We value folks to be who they are and live their authentic selves.” She closed with expressions of pride.
She was followed by Kat Lewis, who is the manager of Planned Parenthood’s local Health Center. She spoke of bodily autonomy for persons of all orientations and said, “We’re just providing healthcare. That’s what we do day in and day out in the Asheville Health Center. We’re providing comprehensive reproductive healthcare, which includes abortion and always should.”
Before the vote, Councilwoman Kim Roney shared, “I am thankful for the feedback we got to include live performance in our supportive resolution for LGBTQ community members… The draft has been redrafted several times since February to remove any language that might be controversial. It is, in fact, the most watered-down resolution in North Carolina. So, I hope it’s ready to come back soon and that we’re ready to stand with our neighbors who use drag as expression and artistic form but also recognize its economic impact in our community.”