Legislation passed by North Carolina and Mississippi’s state legislatures in March forbids transgender individuals from using bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity. North Carolina has also made it unlawful for local legislatures to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In response to the failure of the state or federal government to protect these rights, a raft of large corporations including Deutsche Bank and PayPal have taken matters into their own hands by boycotting the state or taking their business elsewhere. In a statement on their website, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman writes, “The new law perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture. As a result, PayPal will not move forward with our planned expansion into Charlotte. This decision reflects PayPal’s deepest values and our strong belief that every person has the right to be treated equally, and with dignity and respect.”
