After the NCAA and ACC announced they would move championship events from North Carolina last week, three Republican state legislators — Rep. Gary Pendleton, R.- Wake, Sen. Rick Gunn, R.- Alamance and Randolph, and Sen. Tamara Barringer, R.- Wake, — have said they want to revisit HB2.
Gunn said in a statement although he is opposed to men having access to non-male rooms and bathrooms, he is concerned about the impact HB2 has had on the state.
“I think it is time we give serious consideration to modifying, or possibly repealing, HB2,” he said. “It is time for the federal courts to protect women and girls’ privacy.”
Josh Ellis, spokesperson for McCrory, said in a statement that state legislation is only necessary if the Charlotte ordinance — which included LGBTQ people in nondiscrimination protections — remains in place.
“If the Charlotte City Council totally repeals the ordinance and then we can confirm there is support to repeal among the majority of state lawmakers in the House and Senate, the governor will call a special session,” he said. “It is the governor’s understanding that legislative leaders and the lieutenant governor agree with that assessment.”
Mitch Kokai, spokesperson for the John Locke Foundation, a right-leaning think-tank, said he does not expect the N.C. General Assembly to repeal HB2 without passing another piece of legislation addressing Charlotte’s February nondiscrimination ordinance.
“The General Assembly didn’t out of the blue decide to take action that would make the LGBT community mad,” he said. “They did it because the Charlotte City Council passed this ordinance that did not address ... that you’re opening doors to potential abuse.”
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said at a Monday meeting the city council would not consider repealing the ordinance this week, according to the News & Observer, despite calls from the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association for the city to repeal it.
