N. Carolina rolls back ‘bathroom’ legislation
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina rolled back its “bathroom bill” Thursday in a bid to end the year-long backlash over transgender rights that has cost the state dearly in business projects, conventions and basketball tournaments.
The compromise plan, announced Wednesday night by the Democratic governor and leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature, was worked
out under mounting pressure from the NCAA, which threatened to take away more sporting events from the basketball-obsessed state as long as the law — also known as House Bill 2 — remained on the books.
The new measure cleared the House and Senate and was signed by Gov. Roy Cooper in a matter of hours.
Among other things, it repeals the best-known section of HB2: a requirement that transgender people use the public restrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate.
“In a perfect world, with a good General Assembly, we would have repealed House Bill 2 fully today and added full statewide protections for [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT] North Carolinians,” Mr. Cooper added. “Unfortunately our super-majority Republican legislature will not pass these protections. But this is an important goal that I will keep fighting for.”
The American Civil Liberties Union and gay and transgender activists said the new law still denies them certain protections from discrimination, and they demanded nothing less than full repeal. As a result, it was seen as unclear whether the retreat from HB2 would stop the boycotts or satisfy the NCAA. The NCAA had no immediate comment.
Republican Rep. Scott Stone urged his colleagues to vote for the new bill. It passed the House 70-48.
“We are impeding the growth in our revenue, in our ability to do more things for tourism, for teacher pay, while we have this stigma hanging over,” Mr. Stone said.
Conservatives staunchly defended HB2 and condemned the new measure.
“This bill is at best a punt. At worst it is a betrayal of principle,” Republican Sen. Dan Bishop, a primary sponsor of HB2, said on the Senate floor as the rollback was approved 32-16, with nine of 15 Democrats among the yes votes.
While the new measure eliminates the rule on transgender bathroom use, it also makes clear that state legislators — not local government or school officials — are in charge of policy on public restrooms.
HB2 had invalidated any local ordinances that protect gay or transgender people from discrimination in the workplace or in public accommodations. Under the new measure, local governments can’t enact any new such protections until December 2020. That moratorium, GOP leaders say, will allow time for pending federal litigation over transgender rights to play out.
Gay rights activists blasted the proposal, saying it was not a true repeal.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican, if you vote for this bill, you are not a friend of the LGBT community,” said Chris Sgro, Equality North Carolina executive director. “You are not standing on the right side of the moral arc of history or with the civil rights community.”
The deal came together after the NCAA said North Carolina wouldn’t be considered for championship events from 2018 to 2022 unless HB2 was changed. The college sports governing body said it would start making decisions on host cities this week and announce them in April.
An Associated Press analysis this week found that the law would cost the state more than $3.76 billion in lost business over 12 years.
HB2 supporters argued that the bathroom law was needed to preserve people’s privacy and protect them from sexual predators. Opponents said that was nonsense and that the danger was imaginary.