On the same day that U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch brought the hammer down on North Carolina for its so-called “bathroom law” that bans transgender people from using the public restroom of their choice, Samantha Bee used her slightly less powerful platform on Full Frontal to explain how we got here.
“Fans of not being able to go to the bathroom without your birth certificate scored a victory when North Carolina’s governor signed HB2, which addressed the state’s urgent problem of LGBT people not being discriminated against enough,” Bee began.
In response to Governor “middle-aged potty prefect” Pat McCrory, who said he signed the bill to protect his people’s “privacy,” Bee said, “Thanks to you, North Carolina citizens can now expect lots of privacy.” That’s because dozens of major companies, several states, and musical acts like Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam are all participating in a boycott of North Carolina.
“I should add, until North Carolina lets trans people urinate in peace, I will not be bringing my 10-hour concert of Beyoncé covers to Raleigh,” the host joked, before getting to the point. “Boycotts are a powerful tool, but you know what is even a more powerful tool?” she asked. “Not electing a bunch of transphobic numbnuts who are going wreck the state economy to catch a nonexistent predator.”
Just as she previously blamed Democrats who stayed home during the 2010 midterms for causing the rise of Donald Trump, Bee pointed the finger at moderates and liberals who “slept through” that election and brought about the new discriminatory law.
That year, North Carolina got a Republican legislature for the first time since 1870, leading to all kinds of new conservative laws—including easier access to guns and less reproductive rights. They even passed a law that lets local election boards move polling places off of college campuses to suppress the youth vote.
“No wonder Democrats are so hung up on appointing the next Supreme Court justice. They need him to strike down all the shitty state laws that might not have passed if they bothered to vote in 2010,” Bee added. “Look, I know state elections aren’t fun. They don’t have cool concerts or ‘dank memes,’ but voting in them is important.”
“Just think of it like a mammogram,” she concluded. “It’s painful and inconvenient but you’ve got to do it because early prevention hurts a lot less than late-stage treatment.”
