Republicans and Democrats in North Carolina have reached a last-minute compromise to repeal the state’s bathroom bill, but the gay-rights movement says it would be a repeal in name only.
Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, and the top two Republican lawmakers in the state, Senate President Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, have come out in favor of the compromise to repeal HB2.
The Republicans said the legislation would still protect the privacy of women and children in public restrooms, locker rooms and other intimate facilities.
“We believe the four points in Gov. Cooper’s compromise proposal represent a path forward by repealing House Bill 2, protecting citizens’ privacy in bathrooms and changing rooms, authorizing local governments to adopt anti-discrimination ordinances consistent with federal law, and providing legal protections for violations of constitutional rights of conscience,” Mr. Berger and Mr. Moore said in a joint statement.
House Bill 142 cleared a Senate committee Thursday morning and is expected to be voted upon by the full chamber later in the day.
It would repeal HB2, the law regulating intimate public facilities on the basis of biological sex, but leave the regulation of public, multiple-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities to the state.
The legislation would also prohibit local governments from enacting non-discrimination ordinances regulating private employment practices or public accommodations until 2020.
The effort to repeal HB2 comes as the NCAA has said North Carolina won’t be considered for any championship events from 2018 to 2022 if the law remains on the books.
Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the gay-rights group encouraging companies to boycott North Carolina until HB2 is repealed, said the compromise would only “double-down on discrimination.”
“The consequences of this hateful law will only continue without full repeal of HB2,” Mr. Griffin said in a statement. “Sellouts cave under pressure. Leaders fight for what’s right.”
Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC, said the compromise “wouldn’t actually repeal HB2.”
“It kicks HB2 down the road through 2020 — keeping most of the awful law on the books for someone else to deal with,” Mr. Sgro said in a statement. “If Governor Cooper and legislators agree to this — they would be prohibiting protections in key areas for LGBT people for four years. That’s not a solution — it’s more of how we got here in the first place.”
But Mr. Cooper said HB142 is a step in the right direction.
“l support the House Bill 2 repeal compromise that will be introduced tomorrow,” Mr. Cooper said in a statement Wednesday. “It’s not a perfect deal, but it repeals House Bill 2 and begins to repair our reputation.”
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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