Joel Burgess

The Asheville Citizen-Times

ASHEVILLE - Protesters that packed the city's center Thursday evening said they were angry, shocked and embarrassed over a new anti-LGBT law in North Carolina that critics say is the most sweeping in the nation.

But speakers and attendees also said they were determined to find a way to override House Bill 2, which speedily passed the Republican-controlled General Assembly in a specially called Wednesday legislative session in Raleigh.

"I’m angry. I’m mad as hell. I’m heartbroken," said speaker the Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, director of the Asheville-based LGBT advocacy group Campaign for Southern Equality which spearheaded the protest.

"And I am also full of resolve. I know the resilience in our community," said Beach-Ferrara, who is expected to be Buncombe County's first gay commissioner after winning a March 15 Democratic primary.

Between 250-300 people turned out at a quickly organized rally in Pack Square that started at 5 p.m. The crowd continued to grow despite blustery winds and threatening clouds.

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The new law was a reaction to a Charlotte ordinance that had been due to take effect April 1 that would have prevented discrimination in public accommodations by sexual orientation or sexual identification.

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Critics worried the change would have allowed men to enter women's restrooms by claiming they are transgender, and that scenario was a major point of debate in the General Assembly. The resulting legislation affected any LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance in all of the state's towns, cities or counties, making the local rules null and void.

Supporters of the Charlotte rule said bathroom choice was an issue of safety and that restrooms are often a place transgender people experience violence.

Asheville is a hotbed of LGBT activism, with the Campaign for Southern Equality playing a role in the Supreme Court decision overturning gay marriage bans. A rainbow banner flew from City Hall after a federal pro-gay marriage decision. The county has the highest proportion of same-sex couples in the state and the 20th most in the nation. But local laws, such as Charlotte's, haven't gained traction.

Prior to the state law, on March 8, Asheville City Council members declined to take up a Charlotte-style anti-discrimination ordinance, which had already drawn much attention and the ire of legislators who were threatening a special session. Council members said Charlotte was making a change to a prior anti-discrimination ordinance that left out bathrooms. Asheville didn't need such a fix, they said.

After her primary win, Beach-Ferrara said she wanted to introduce such an ordinance for the county, which has seen deep divides over issues such as gay marriage. Immediate and full support came from only one Democrat on the seven-member board of commissioners. All three Republicans were opposed.

The rally began with singer Kat Williams, an Asheville musical icon, whose song featured lyrics, such as "I'm going to keep on walking, keep on walking" and "ain't going to let discrimination turn me 'round."

Williams was the subject of a widely-noted sexual orientation controversy this month after the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte dumped her from its Gala For Hope fundraiser because she's gay and was previously married to a woman.

Most 'extreme' law in country

Speaker Brynn Estelle with the transgender support group Tranzmission called the legislation "the most far-reaching and extreme anti-LGBT legislation in the country."

She emphasized the bathroom issue as one of safety. One in 300 Americans are transgender, she said, and the murders of transgender women were on the rise with 13 reported in 2014 and 22 in 2015. She noted the stance of one local Republican candidate that guns should be carried in restrooms to protect against the potential of sexual predators.

"This legislation is merely a natural continuation of that same violent and dangerous rhetoric."

Speaker Ivy Hill, an LGBT rights specialist with the Campaign for Southern Equality, said it was important "to let trans youth across the state of North Carolina know that they are not alone, and that we have their backs."

Hill said that CSE and Tranzmission were distributing free "all-gender" restroom signs to any Asheville business, organization or faith group that wants them.

"Talk to the folks at businesses you frequent and ask them to change their restroom signs. All they have to do is send us an e-mail and we'll hand deliver all-gender restroom signs to their front door with a smile and a thank you."

Asheville Buncombe County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Carmen Ramos-Kennedy spoke and said protesters have the support of the local and state NAACP.

"Any bill that undermines the constitutional right of one person undermines and hurts us all. HB 2 is extreme and immoral," Ramos-Kennedy said.

She criticized Gov. Pat McCrory for signing the bill and the legislature for calling a special session to kill anti-discrimination rules.

She said the legislature didn't call special sessions to expand voter rights, accept federal Medicaid expansion or raise the minimum wage.

"Shame on them," she said.

'Will not stand'

Several elected officials attended, including Mayor Esther Manheimer, City Councilman Keith Young and Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger.

Sen. Terry Van Duyn took her turn at the megaphone, saying she was there to give "a simple message." First, that the legislature was wrong; second, "That I see you, I hear you, I love you and together we will work until we get rid of this bill."

And finally, that "this is not North Carolina." The Democratic state senator said her Facebook page and e-mail account had "exploded" with people who are angry and upset.

"This will not stand," she said several times.