Today, the North Carolina General Assembly failed to repeal the state’s deeply discriminatory HB2. Full repeal of HB2 was a central part of a deal negotiated by Governor-elect Roy Cooper that included the recent repeal of Charlotte’s non-discrimination ordinance.
At the last minute, GOP leadership in the General Assembly blew up the deal when they sought to keep hateful, anti-LGBTQ provisions that would have maintained, potentially indefinitely, the prohibition on cities protecting their own residents. These very same inclusive protections exist in more than 100 cities, including Jackson, Miss., Louisville, Ky., Orlando, Fla., and Minneapolis, Minn., which passed them in 1975. HB2, which remains in effect, was rammed through the legislature nine months ago, causing a significant national outcry, severe economic fallout, and the defeat of the state’s Republican governor — the only incumbent governor from either party to lose on election day.
“Today, the public trust has been betrayed once again. Lawmakers sent a clear message: North Carolina remains closed for business,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “It’s been 273 days since Republican state lawmakers passed the hateful HB2 law, and they have resisted fixing the mess they created every step of the way. Even after Charlotte responded to the GOP leadership’s loathsome demand to repeal common sense protections that exist in more than 100 cities, Senator Berger and Speaker Moore failed to make good on the ‘deal’ they brokered with Governor-elect Cooper to fully repeal HB2. Their shameful actions and broken promises subject LGBTQ North Carolinians to state-mandated discrimination, contribute to a heightened environment of harassment and violence, and will continue the significant harm done to the state’s reputation and economy. It’s clear today that the GOP leadership’s cruelty towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and particularly transgender North Carolinians knows no bounds. For our part, we will continue to fight to defeat all of HB2 and protect North Carolinians no matter what it takes.”
Following passage in March of this year, HB2 triggered a national outcry of opposition, and a broad range of voices spoke out over the last 9 months demanding its full and complete repeal. The economic fallout — including more than $600 million in lost business — grew as companies concerned with protecting their consumers and employees moved conventions, trainings, operations, productions, and other events out of state. In November, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory became the only incumbent governor from either party to lose re-election this year after he championed and signed into law HB2.
“The North Carolina General Assembly is a national disgrace,” said National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) Executive Director Mara Keisling. “In March, North Carolina lawmakers passed HB2. Last week, they made a shocking move to wrest power from Governor-elect Roy Cooper before he even took office. Today, they claimed they would repeal HB 2. As we have come to expect from these dishonest and underhanded extremist lawmakers, however, were not planning on repealing it in full. The repeal bill included a portion that bans cities in North Carolina from passing their own nondiscrimination laws for, at least, six months.This is unacceptable. The legislature’s actions today have proven that the people of North Carolina—particularly transgender North Carolinians—cannot have any faith in their shameless lawmakers. We continue to stand with the people of North Carolina, particularly the transgender people who have been harmed by HB2 and their own lawmakers’ actions, and we will continue to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with them until this shameful legislation is repealed in its entirety.”
North Carolina polling released by HRC and Equality NC found that HB2 was the number one issue leading to Governor Pat McCrory’s defeat — the only incumbent governor from either party to lose on election day. The HRC and Equality NC survey of 500 North Carolina voters found that 62 percent of voters opposed HB2, while only 30 percent supported the law. HB2 was also listed as the leading reason to vote against McCrory — with 57 percent citing the bill, 17 points above any other issue.
“For 273 long days, HB2 has put LGBTQ North Carolinians at risk for discrimination and violence. Every single day, we have lost businesses, new residents, tourists, concerts, and sporting events,” said Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro. “Today’s failure to repeal HB2 is a blow to not just the LGBTQ community but to the entire state of North Carolina. With HB2 still on the books and the Charlotte Ordinance fully repealed we will only continue to lose businesses and put LGBTQ North Carolinians in harms way. The North Carolina General Assembly Leadership has made clear today that North Carolina remains closed for business.”
Rea Carey, executive director, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund issued the following statement:
“The full repeal of HB2 with no harmful amendments would be welcomed news for North Carolina, but instead, GOP lawmakers have turned their backs on LGBTQ people, workers, veterans, women and people of faith. Let’s be clear: HB2 is bad for business, bad for politicians, but bad for all North Carolinians as it denies millions of people freedom, justice, equality and human dignity. HB2 bans cities and local jurisdictions from enacting non-discrimination protections on grounds such as race and gender, from enacting equal pay laws, family paid leave, and livable minimum wages.
“Tonight, self-interested North Carolina politicians showed that they will stop at nothing as they resigned themselves to an even worse reputation and an economy that’s continuing to plummet. If nothing else, these lawmakers not only need to repeal HB2 but also pass comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. If they do nothing, HB2 will go down in history as one of the most vindictive and damaging laws in the state’s recent history.
“We are deeply disappointed that the Charlotte City Council repealed its landmark law in good conscience and the state lawmakers failed to do their part. What is particularly notable about all of this is the role that thousands of people of faith played in protesting HB2 as immoral. These voices were pivotal and will be critical as we fight for full repeal of HB2 and passage of full nondiscrimination protections. This was a tremendous opportunity for North Carolina to right a great wrong; it’s unconscionable that lawmakers chose to waste it,” said Carey.
The ACLU and Lambda Legal condemned North Carolina Lawmakers’ failure to repeal HB 2.
“It is a shame that North Carolina’s General Assembly is refusing to clean up the mess they made. The support for the LGBT community from political leaders, faith leaders, businesses, and everyday people that has emerged this year will not fade. These attempts to expel transgender people from public life will not be tolerated,” said James Esseks, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT & HIV Project. “The legislature may not be willing to undo their unconstitutional overreach and respect the rights of LGBT people, so we’ll just have to see them in court.”
“The General Assembly and the Governor McCrory are playing political chicken, and North Carolinians continue to lose for it. It is an outrage that North Carolina’s Republican lawmakers could not follow the mandate of the voters and repeal HB 2,” said Simone Bell, southern regional director at Lambda Legal. “As long as HB 2 is on the books, thousands of LGBT people who call North Carolina home, especially transgender people, are being discriminated against and will never feel safe. This was a counterproductive exercise in reaffirming to the rest of the country that North Carolina wants to remain mired in last year’s divisive dispute.”
With HB 2 in place, transgender North Carolinians are barred from using the restrooms they had used day in and day out without incident prior to the passage of the anti-trans measure in March. The repeal of HB 2 would bring essential and immediate relief to transgender people across the state who have been put in the perilous position of being forced to avoid public restrooms or risk violation of state law.
