Chapel Hill Adds LGBTQ+ Anti-Discrimination Ordinance
Jade Wilson
It looks like Orange County is now the safest place for LGBTQ folks in North Carolina.
The Chapel Hill Town Council voted unanimously to approve an update to their anti-discrimination ordinance on Wednesday night, which will protect people from discrimination in businesses and in the workplace. It is the third Orange County municipality to do so, following Hillsborough s historic Monday night vote and Carrboro s unanimous vote Tuesday.
The three towns came together to organize the effort after a key component of HB 142, the state s compromise after HB 2 s inception, expired in December 2020. Prior to this, local North Carolina municipalities were prohibited from enacting anti-discrimination laws for three years.
Hillsborough Becomes First Town to Enact LGBTQ Protections Post-HB 142
Courtesy of the subjects
Gay elected officials championing anti-discrimination ordinances to protect LGBTQ residents (L-R): Hillsborough Commissioner Matt Hughes, Chapel Hill Council Member Karen Stegman, Carrboro Council Member Damon Seils and Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle.
Not Raleigh, or Charlotte, or Greensboroâit was Hillsborough, a town of 7,000 people, who made history Monday night by enacting North Carolina s first LGBTQ anti-discrimination policy in the ashes of HB 142. The ordinance passed unanimously.
âThe nondiscrimination ordinances that Hillsborough and localities across the state will pass show the commitment we as local officials have to the constitutional principle of equal protection under the law,â Commissioner Matt Hughes said in a statement. âAs a biracial gay man myself, it brings me hope that our constituents know we not only see them, but that we will do all within ou