Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Grammy Award-winning singer Ciara did an end-around on North Carolina due to the state’s transgender bathroom law by moving their destination wedding to London.
Wedding planner Mindy Weiss explained to the Knot Wedding News, “I did the whole thing — three times… They were first getting married in North Carolina, but they called it off due to the transgender bathroom laws.”
The power couple also considered taking their vows in Paris, but too much commotion surrounding fashion week in the City of Lights deterred them, rendering London as the preferred venue.
The 27-year-old Russell, who led the Seahawks to the XLVIII Super Bowl Championship in 2014, commented last month that everyone has an obligation to promote social change.
“Well, I think we all have a responsibility,” he said. “It’s not just on athletes, it’s not just on coaches, it’s not just on anybody in particular. It’s on all of us. I think ultimately it comes down to love and appreciating one another and respect for one another.”
The Seahawks third-round pick in 2012 added that, “It’s an appreciation for society, an appreciation for the country we live in, an appreciation for the towns and cities that we live in. Ultimately, it comes down to all of us to make sure we appreciate one another.”
Not everyone shares the same feelings as Wilson on the matter. North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, who signed the state’s bathroom-privacy laws into existence, recently defied the NBA when he refused to give into the leauge’s threat of pulling next year’s All-Star game from the Tar Heel State because of the law. “The sports and entertainment elite, Attorney General Roy Cooper and the liberal media have for months misrepresented our laws and maligned the people of North Carolina simply because most people believe boys and girls should be able to use school bathrooms, locker rooms and showers without the opposite sex present,” McCrory said in a statement reported by USA Today.
ESPN recounted that the new law requires everyone, including transgender people, “to use bathrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificates.” The law does not apply to private institutions or establishments, but only to government buildings.
Wilson and Ciara, along with others, believe that the NC laws discriminate against lesbian, gay, and transgender people.
The wedding, according to Weiss, was a glorious affair. “I think my favorite part [of Ciara and Russell’s wedding] was the ceremony because they were so happy,” she said. “They are delicious…. They really are a very cool couple. I really enjoy their relationship.”
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