Having McCrory call the session might have been the only way to get the GOP to go along at this point.
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On Monday, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper – also the governor-elect who ousted McCrory in the November election – brokered an agreement by which both the city of Charlotte and the state of North Carolina were rescind their respective legislation.
Accusations about what happened broke down along party lines.
In March, the state’s house and senate passed the bill in a special session.
Sen. Buck Newton said the moratorium on ordinances was necessary because Charlotte couldn’t be trusted.
“In order to continue thriving as an inclusive community and compete for high-paying jobs and world-class events, the city and state must take action together to restore our collective reputation”, according to the council’s statement.
The failure to repeal HB2, which states that people must use the restrooms that correspond with the sex on their birth certificate regardless of their gender identity, was the result of partisan bickering, the Washington Post reports.
A deal between state lawmakers and the city of Charlotte sets the stage for the repeal of HB2, which started a domino effect of organizations, companies and celebrities pulling their financial connections from the state in protest. Democrats and some Republicans, though, pushed back.
The Charlotte Chamber said Thursday that it’s hopeful a repeal of the law limiting local protections for LGBT individuals can be repealed soon, possibly when the legislature reconvenes in January.
“Now that the Charlotte ordinance has been repealed, the expectation of privacy in our showers, bathrooms and locker rooms is restored and protected under previous state law”.
David and Jason Benham, whose extreme anti-LGBT views cost them an HGTV reality show before it began production, warned the repeal was a “political shakedown” that would allow civil rights activists to persecute Christians, reported Right Wing Watch.
HB2 repeal bill filed by Senate Republicans.
But there were not enough votes to approve the bill and after meeting for nine hours the legislators called it quits. The move came after Charlotte abruptly repealed its local nondiscrimination ordinance. In both cases, Charlotte and its LGBT ordinance were blamed for the passage of HB2 and the economic backlash, and in both cases, the Council stood strong and refused to take the bait.
Singers Bruce Springsteen, Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas, as well as bands such as Pearl Jam and Boston, canceled concerts in the state. “I’m disappointed that we did not remove the stain on our great state”, he said.
Discussions about repealing the law increased after decisions by the NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference to move their championship events out of North Carolina this academic year.
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As The New York Times notes, Charlotte’s ordinance wasn’t fully repealed on Monday.
