A petition to stop Charlotte’s city council from adding transgender individuals to the city’s non-discrimination policy has been started.

#dontdoitcharlotte petition —> https://t.co/Uc9McUKYG3

— Marshall Fant IV (@mfant) February 4, 2016

What Charlotte’s Mayor and city council are proposing is allowing anyone who “self-
identifies” as the opposite sex to be able to use public facilities like restrooms for whichever gender they are “self-identifying” as at any given time.

I covered this just recently for those who want to catch up to speed, read Charlotte Officials Push To Let Anyone Pee Where They Want.

The Petition is titled, #DontDoItCharlotte. There is a full website with the same name supporting it where Don’t Do It Charlotte lists their issues with the proposal:

• Puts children and women in danger and violates their sense of privacy and security.
• Creates undue regulatory burdens on private businesses and unnecessarily exposes them to lawsuits and liability by requiring them to promote messages or ideas that are contrary to their religious beliefs.
• Requires the City of Charlotte to engage in impermissible discrimination on the basis of religion when it chooses businesses with which to contract and do business.
• Violates Article II, Section 24 (j) of the Constitution of the State of North Carolina, by creating a local non-discrimination ordinance regulating labor and trade.

There is a lot of other  useful information on the page , including the proposed ordinance change, upcoming meetings and notice of a rally before the next Council meeting on February 22nd.

Of note, the website also has a legal analysis from Alliance Defending Freedom. This analysis cites potential violations under the First Amendment and the Establishment clause.

The analysis makes the case that an ordinance like this would open up local businesses and the city to a wide array of lawsuits.  The conclusion section summarizes:

The Ordinance raises many constitutional concerns. It could be used to compel businesses to speak messages they do not want to speak and to engage in activities and events that, for religious reasons, they cannot in good conscience engage. It will force businesses, private clubs, and perhaps even churches and other houses of worship to open their bathrooms and other facilities to both sexes. This will violate the privacy of women and girls, and place their safety at risk. And the Ordinance may require the City to engage in impermissible discrimination on the basis of religious belief.

The site also includes a letter to the City Council: