Gov-elect: End imminent for ‘bathroom bill’
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina leaders struck a deal Monday to kill the state law widely derided as the “bathroom bill,” after it tarnished the state’s reputation, cost it scores of jobs and contributed to the Republican governor’s narrow loss.
Democratic Gov.-elect Roy Cooper announced legislators will hold a special session to repeal the law known as HB2 that excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from antidiscrimination protections. The law requires transgender people to use restrooms corresponding with the sex on their birth certificate in many public buildings.
Undoing the law would be a step toward mending political divisions that remain raw well after Election Day. Just last week, lawmakers called a special session to strip Cooper of some authority before he takes office next month.
The state’s Republican leaders confirmed they’re open to repealing HB2, but in a sign of lingering acrimony, they accused Cooper of taking too much credit for winning their cooperation.
Monday’s surprising events began in the morning when the Charlotte City Council voted to undo a local nondiscrimination law enacted in early 2016. That ordinance, Republicans legislators say, challenged social norms and spurred them to pass HB2.
Outgoing Republican Gov. Pat McCrory confirmed he would call lawmakers back to the Capitol in the final days of his term — but also said Democrats used the issue for political gain.
“This sudden reversal with little notice after the gubernatorial election sadly proves this entire issue originated by the political left was all about politics and winning the governor’s race at the expense of Charlotte and our entire state,” said McCrory, a former Charlotte mayor.
Berger and Moore issued a joint statement saying they will take up a repeal if McCrory calls them into session, but accused Cooper of taking too much credit in his announcement.
They said the debate over transgender bathroom access started with Charlotte and was pushed by Cooper as “a political stunt to drive out-of-state money into the governor’s race.”
Republicans have defended the bathroom provisions as providing privacy and safety by keeping men out of women’s restrooms. Opponents call it discriminatory.