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Reddit, eBay, and 14 others join the fight against North Carolina's anti-LGBT law

Reddit, eBay, and 14 others join the fight against North Carolina's anti-LGBT law

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Corporate pressure is growing against a new North Carolina law overturning legal protections against LGBT discrimination. Today, executives from 16 different companies signed an open letter to Governor Pat McRory opposing the law and urging him to repeal it in the next legislative session. "HB2 is not a bill that reflects the values of our companies," the letter reads. "Discrimination is wrong, and we believe it has no place in North Carolina or anywhere in our country." Today's new signatories include Reddit, eBay, Starbucks, Citibank, Accenture, and Atlassian.

Organized by Human Rights Campaign and Equality North Carolina, the letter was first published on March 29th with 80 signatures including the CEOs of Facebook, Apple, Lyft, Google, Dropbox, and Tumblr.

Largely overlooked before its passage, HB2 has gained national prominence this week after vigorous campaigning by LGBT rights groups. The law overturns existing state protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and institutes a number of unique new restrictions on transgender people. Under HB2, North Carolinians are legally barred from any bathroom or locker room that does not match the gender assigned on their birth certificate, putting transgender men and women in an impossible situation. Civil liberties groups have also challenged the bill as unconstitutional, filing a federal lawsuit against the state earlier this week.