It buys our food, it pays for our (parents’) Netflix and it’s often on our minds. And after listening to Gov. Roy Cooper’s recent press conference in which he announced a compromise to repeal House Bill 2, you would think money is all we care about, too. Cooper repeatedly emphasized the economic costs of HB2 to North Carolina’s economy, and barely addressed the law’s most troubling effects: its abolition of local nondiscrimination measures and segregation of public bathrooms by birth gender.
“This three-step common-sense compromise that we propose today will work. It will bring back the NCAA, it will bring back the ACC, the NBA and it will bring back jobs. It will address the concerns of those who worry about bathroom safety, security, and privacy ... ” Cooper said. “And this proposal will begin to repair the damage to North Carolina’s reputation.”
The Governor must assess our moral fiber as pretty flimsy, if he believes the most appealing case to repeal HB2 hinges on lost sports tournaments and a damaged state reputation. His rhetoric says more about his opinion of the Republican-controlled state legislature’s interests, since they are the ones who will have to approve any repeal plan.
Compromise is a necessary part of politics, and we are glad to see Cooper reaching for common ground with Republicans in order to repeal HB2. Moving forward, though, we would like to see all our state politicians showing at least as much interest in the good treatment of our fellow North Carolinians as they do in our gross state product.
