Months after it was signed into law, House Bill 2 was repealed today in a compromise that restricts local anti-discrimination ordinances.
House Bill 142 passed in the Senate and House earlier today, after which it was quickly signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper. Cooper said in a press release that the bill was not perfect, but was a step toward “ending discrimination.”
“In a perfect world, we would have repealed HB2 today and added full statewide protections for LGBT North Carolinians,” the press release from Cooper said. “Unfortunately, our supermajority Republican legislature will not pass these protections. But this is an important goal that I will keep fighting for.”
Legislators from the far right and far left voted against the bill, some sharing during the hour-long debate period in the House their reasoning for opposing it.
According to WRAL, Rep. Chaz Beasley, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, spoke against the bill, saying that it was a regressive step for the state.
“I cannot in good conscience vote for something that I believe takes us backward on civil rights,” Beasley said. “Consider what kind of signal this sends about our state to the rest of the country, but also consider what signal it sends to the next generation of North Carolinians.”
Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Democrat representing District 16, which encompasses NC State and other parts of Wake County, voted against the bill. He could not be reached by Technician for comment.
In addition to repealing HB2, HB142 prevents localities from regulating multiple occupancy restrooms, showers or changing facilities, leaving such regulation to the state. It also puts a moratorium on local ordinances regulating public accommodations or private employment practices until Dec. 1, 2020. One consequence of this provision is that localities cannot implement pro-LGBT non-discrimination hiring policies.
The signing of HB142 comes on the day of a deadline set by the NCAA for repealing HB2. As previously reported by the Technician, the NCAA has threatened to pull basketball tournament events out of NC through 2022 if the deadline was not met.
According to WRAL, Joaquin Carcano, a transgender man who is suing the state over House Bill 2, spoke against the bill in a Senate Rules Committee hearing Thursday morning.
“Our lives are not compromises,” Carcano said. “Our lives are not to be bargained with. It is a true violent act against us if you are discussing how to sacrifice our lives and our safety for the sake of basketball.”
According to WRAL, Rep. Bert Jones, a Republican from Rockingham, also spoke against the bill, emphasizing the timing of the repeal with respect to the NCAA’s deadline. Some other Republicans cited similar reasoning for voting against the bill.
“Perhaps it would be appropriate if we would commemorate the passage of this bill by inviting the governor to come down to the building today and lowering [the U.S. and North Carolina flags outside the Legislative Building] and putting up in their place a flag of a certain intercollegiate athletic association and a white flag,” Jones said.
Many conservative factions and leaders have cited safety concerns in their opposition to repealing HB2. The NC Values Coalition said that HB2 guaranteed that men would not be allowed “into women’s and little girl’s bathrooms and showers.”
