2,044 events on record Subscribe September 10, 2026
Standing Record home The Standing Record A non-partisan record of US democratic norms —
and the events that erode them.

Timeline › 2016

2016

2 entries from 2016.

April(1)

Mississippi Gov. Bryant signed HB 1523, authorizing religion-based denial of service to LGBT people

On April 5, 2016, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed HB 1523, the "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act," into law. The statute lets state employees, private businesses, religious organizations, and state-funded providers refuse services based on three specified religious beliefs about marriage, sex, and gender, shielding refusal of marriage licenses to same-sex couples and denial of services to LGBT people and unmarried people. A federal judge enjoined the law in June 2016, but the Fifth Circuit later reversed on standing grounds and it took effect on October 9, 2017.

March(1)

North Carolina Gov. McCrory signed HB2, barring transgender bathroom access and preempting local nondiscrimination ordinances

On March 23, 2016, in a one-day special session, the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 2, the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, and Gov. Pat McCrory signed it into law that evening. The law required multi-occupancy bathrooms and changing facilities in public schools and public agencies to be designated for use based on the sex stated on a person's birth certificate, and barred local governments from enacting nondiscrimination ordinances covering employment and public accommodations, nullifying Charlotte's LGBTQ-inclusive ordinance that had prompted the special session.