Urge SC Lawmakers to Protect LGBTQ+ People from Discrimination

Nondiscrimination reflects our shared values.

• No one should face discrimination because of who they are or who they love – but LGBTQ South Carolinians remain vulnerable in key areas of life, including public spaces, health care, and housing. 

• This bill would bring South Carolina in line with the 20+ other states nationwide with comprehensive nondiscrimination laws that protect LGBTQ people. 

• Protecting people from discrimination is about treating others as we want to be treated, including people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. 

South Carolina is ready for inclusive nondiscrimination protections.

• There is broad support for this legislation. A growing majority of South Carolinians – 67 percent – support passing these protections.

• Now is the time to pass comprehensive nondiscrimination protections that protect all South Carolinians from discrimination, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or natural hairstyle.

• Local communities across the state have for years been discussing and passing local nondiscrimination ordinances – partial protections exist in six municipalities so far, including Columbia, Charleston, and Mount Pleasant. But local communities can only do so much, and we’re now grappling with a patchwork of protections where LGBTQ people in some areas are protected and in others, they are left vulnerable. We will not be fully protected until comprehensive laws exist across the state. 

Nondiscrimination protections are important and needed

• It is hard for many people to believe that it is still legal under South Carolina law to deny someone service in a restaurant, require that they leave a business, or otherwise discriminate against someone because they are LGBTQ.

• Most people want to do the right thing, but there will always be a few people who only do what’s right when the law requires it.

• Updating our laws won’t change everything overnight. But it provides one more tool to ensure that all people, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, are treated fairly and equally in all public spaces. 

Critical gaps in nondiscrimination remain

• This bill would fill critical gaps that were not addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bostock v. Clayton County ruling or President Biden’s LGBTQ-inclusive Executive Order. These steps forward ensured that LGBTQ people were covered by federal laws prohibiting discrimination based on “sex.”

• But there are no federal laws barring sex discrimination in places of public accommodation or federally funded programs, so it’s up to state legislators to extend protections to LGBTQ people in public places.

• We decided as a country long ago that businesses that are open to the public should be open to everyone on the same terms. Nobody should be turned away from a business or denied service in a restaurant simply because of who they are.