Almost 70 North Carolina clergy members from various faiths have pledged to protect the rights of LGBT citizens in North Carolina and to overturn House Bill 2. 

“We are morally outraged about this rarely used political maneuver by the state Senate and House to bypass the will of Charlotte’s City Council,” said the Rev. Robin Tanner, lead minister at the Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church in a news conference Tuesday, according to The News & Observer. “However, we are even more disturbed about the fact that this effort denies entire segments of the population their due protections as citizens.” 

The clergy will be pulling their resources together in hopes of overturning the bill. They say they refuse to let the actions of a few politicians in Raleigh quiet the voice of the people in Charlotte. They’re also claiming that, while the bill was intended to divide the community, it has brought many people together. 

“What was intended to divide us as a community has actually had the opposite effect and is uniting many unusual suspects,” said Bishop Tonyia Rawls, pastor at Sacred Souls Community Church at the news conference, according to Time Warner Cable News. “What we’re excited about is we are all angry about this. It is unjust. It is outrageous. And we are standing against HB2 in a bold and strong way, so that now justice may reign for all North Carolinians.” 

The clergy group includes people who are members of the LGBT community and leaders of their respective religious organizations. 

The Rev. Mark Harris, pastor of First Baptist Church of Charlotte and leading supporter of HB2, refuted the claims of the leaders who have signed on to this bill. He blamed the Charlotte City Council for going too far in passing the city ordinance HB2 was designed to kill. 

Two transgender ministers of the group will be organizing a rally against the bill on April 24.