“What’s clear is that the compromise is not about the safety, well-being, or basic human dignity of LGBTQ people; it’s about money. Governor Cooper gives the game away when he says that the compromise is “not perfect” but “begins to repair [North Carolina’s] reputation.” What this means is that the compromise is not satisfactory to LGBTQ people, but it may satisfy the multinational corporations boycotting the state because of HB2. This, in turn, reveals one of the dangers of using boycotts to safeguard basic human rights. The pivotal question becomes about optics and marketing—can the state “sell” this solution?—and not about the substantive and fair treatment of the state’s citizens. Marginalized people already face daunting challenges in obtaining basic protections. Making those protections dependent on the beneficence of multinational corporations only alienates marginalized communities further from the political process.”
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