Earlier today, the NC General Assembly voted to pass a bill that "repeals House Bill 2, creates a moratorium on local discrimination ordinances through 2020 and leaves regulation of bathrooms to state lawmakers."
This NYT article discusses responses by lawmakers on all sides of the discussion and highlights the frustrations of many at this compromise. In particular, though repealing the bathroom bill may seem like a step in the right direction, many argue that the LGBT community will be left without nondiscrimination policies.
Some examples from the article include the following three quotes:
- In a brief statement on Wednesday, Mr. Cooper — whose razor-thin victory over Mr. McCrory in November was due in large part to voter frustration over the national backlash over House Bill 2 — said that the measure was “not a perfect deal, but it repeals House Bill 2 and begins to repair our reputation.”
- In the House, Representative Deb Butler, one of the state’s few openly gay legislators, was among those who said the compromise would not ameliorate “the stigma and suffering” associated with House Bill 2. “We would rather suffer HB2 than to have this body, one more time, deny us the full and unfettered protection of the law,” she said.
- Representative Bert Jones, a Republican, also opposed the compromise, noting his belief that God “created us male and female,” and said that it was not discriminatory for him to hold that belief.
Another interesting aspect of this article that I want to mention is the role the basketball community has played in creating change. The NCAA and NBA moving important basketball games out of the state in direct response to the bathroom bill has created an economic incentive and social pressure to quickly repeal House Bill 2.
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