HB 2: Cooper doesn't support national boycott of North Carolina

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Democratic Gov.-elect Roy Cooper opposes an effort by the head of the state NAACP for a national economic boycott of North Carolina designed to pressure overturning a law limiting LGBT rights and other actions by Republicans.

Cooper said Friday in a release he shares others' frustrations about GOP policies - like House Bill 2 - but the better way is to bring companies and people to North Carolina to "join us in the fight for fairness."

North Carolina NAACP leader the Rev. William Barber announced Thursday his organization would ask the national civil rights group to begin a boycott similar to one against South Carolina when the Confederate battle flag flew on the Statehouse grounds.

Barber is also unhappy with legislation addressing the appellate courts and elections and with redistricting.

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The head of North Carolina's NAACP says he wants his national organization to back an economic boycott of the state.

Rev. William Barber was reacting to Wednesday night's failure by state lawmakers to repeal House Bill 2.

An apparent bipartisan deal that called for a full repeal of the controversial bathroom bill fell apart during the latest special session.

Barber, who spoke with reporters this morning in Raleigh, says a boycott would put even more pressure on lawmakers to repeal the law that limits LGBT rights.

"This legislature is trying to raise a new Confederacy," Barber said. "This group doesn't respect the Constitution. They don't respect the voices of the people, the will of the people."

Barber also criticized the legislature's actions last week that cut the powers of the incoming Democratic governor. He said lawmakers were infringing on voter rights by changing Governor-elect Roy Cooper's powers after the election.

Barber said NAACP lawyers are working on legal paperwork to fight those changes in court.

The state NAACP leader says the formal boycott proposal will be written after Christmas and sent to the organization's national office for approval.

Already, the state has lost several high profile sporting events, concerts, and business expansions because of HB 2.

The NAACP's economic boycott of South Carolina due to flying the Confederate battle flag on the Statehouse grounds lasted 15 years until the flag was removed in 2015.

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Governor Pat McCrory called a special session Wednesday for what many believed would result in a repeal of House Bill 2, but that deal fell apart by Wednesday evening.

For months, Republicans in North Carolina said if Charlotte repealed its local ordinance which prompted HB2, state lawmakers would repeal the statewide legislation, but Democrats pulled away from the deal, saying it was only a partial repeal of HB2.

The controversial bathroom bill put North Carolina in the spotlight back in March.

According to Democrats, they struck down the deal when the GOP added a six month hold on cities passing non-discrimination ordinances like regulating restrooms or changing facilities.

"I told Senate Democrats to stick to the bill," says Democratic Governor-elect Roy Cooper. "This idea that sprung up in the last couple of hours that I had never heard about, it wouldn't work. It doubles down on discrimination for an indefinite amount of time."

Republicans complained that Charlotte had not in fact repealed every provision in its city ordinance.

Senate President Phil Berger says Cooper did everything he could to sabotage a reasonable compromise for political gain.

Governor McCrory also issued a statement late Wednesday evening saying, "As I've stated multiple times, the balance between privacy and equality is not just a North Carolina issue, it is a national issue that will be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court in the near future."

Major corporations and events are still refusing to do business in North Carolina due to the legislation and residents say the special session was a way for lawmakers to redeem themselves.

"That promise was to repeal HB2," says Aaron Lucier, a community activist. "We had a party that spent an estimated $42,000 today to have a special session for absolutely no reason at all and that's the disappointment. It's a failure in leadership."

As it stands, the Democratic and Republican parties are at odds yet again over House Bill 2 with no resolution in sight after the legislature adjourned without passing any bill.

For now, both sides are left pointing fingers, saying the other broke the deal.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina Gov.-elect Roy Cooper says Republican legislators had a chance to do the right thing by repealing a contentious LGBT law, but they failed to live up to their promise.

The Democrat said Wednesday night there had been a bipartisan deal that called for a full repeal but that GOP leaders at the legislature went back on their word by adding a moratorium that he said "doubled down on discrimination."

The Senate's top leader disagreed with that assessment, saying Charlotte city leaders had already broken a promise by failing to fully repeal a non-discrimination ordinance that had led to the passage of House Bill 2 back in March.

Cooper told reporters he had worked on forging a deal for about 10 days. He says he'll keep working on repeal because the law is a "great stain" on the state that's resulting in lost jobs and sporting events.

Senate President Phil Berger in a news release claims that repeal of House Bill 2 has been halted due to governor-elect Roy Cooper.

Governor-elect Cooper meanwhile has scheduled a press conference for 8:30 p.m. to discuss the events in the General Assembly.

Berger's release comes hours after a delay late Wednesday afternoon that saw democrats take issue with a provision added to the repeal that would put in place a 6-month "cooling off period" that would prevent local ordinances regarding restrooms. Democrats say they worry that 6-months could eventually become permanent.

Senator Berger in the release says that Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts and Cooper operated in bad faith by passing a secret, partial repeal in a closed-door meeting, and tried to claim credit for compromising on the same 'deal' they killed multiple times for their own political gain during the campaign season.

“Make no mistake: Roy Cooper and Senate Democrats killed the repeal of HB2, abandoning Roy Cooper’s commitment to avoid divisive social issues by shooting down a temporary cooling off period on ordinances like the one that got us into this mess last March,” said Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham.) “Their action proves they only wanted a repeal in order to force radical social engineering and shared bathrooms across North Carolina, at the expense of our state’s families, our reputation and our economy.”

Democrats are pointing the blame at Republicans.

"Tonight's vote was nothing but a sleight of hand from North Carolina Republicans," says NC Democratic Party Chairwoman Patsy Keever. "They have lied to voters every step of the way in an effort to advance their discriminatory agenda. They have done nothing to protect against discrimination and have only further damaged our reputation."

“The Charlotte ordinance is repealed, HB2 is still hanging around North Carolina’s neck, and the Republican excuses for keeping HB2 are revealed to be utterly fraudulent,” said Gerrick Brenner, executive director of Progress NC Action. “As employers, major sporting events, and entertainers cross North Carolina off their list of states in which to invest and visit, it’s ever more crystal clear who is to blame. Republicans in the General Assembly will answer to voters in 2017.”

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Debate has been delayed on Republican legislation to repeal North Carolina's law limiting LGBT protections and directing which restrooms transgender people can use after Democrats spoke out against the measure.

The legislation considered Wednesday would get rid of the law known as House Bill 2. But it also would prevent local governments from approving ordinances affecting public accommodations and access to restrooms for six months.

Democrats oppose the moratorium as falling short of a complete repeal. Sen. Floyd McKissick of Durham says people are worried the moratorium will become a permanent ban.

Senate leader Phil Berger says the bill takes the law back to where it was before Charlotte approved a nondiscrimination ordinance that led to HB2.

Senate Republicans are in a private meeting deciding what to do next.

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Perhaps North Carolina's most influential politician is introducing legislation to repeal a state law that has cost the state jobs and millions of dollars.

State Senate leader Phil Berger is the primary sponsor of legislation filed Wednesday that would repeal the law passed in March dictating which bathroom transgender people must use and limiting LGBT protections.

The bill adds a wrinkle: It would block local governments from passing ordinances regulating employment practices or public accommodations related to restrooms, showers or changing facilities for six months.

Republican lawmakers say they passed the law only after Charlotte expanded nondiscrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations. Charlotte's City Council on Monday and again Wednesday voted to eliminate the ordinance.

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The North Carolina legislature has gaveled in its special session to consider repealing a law limiting LGBT protections that it approved nine months ago, but some Republicans still prefer to keep House Bill 2.

The House and Senate began meeting Wednesday morning but went into recess. Gov. Pat McCrory called the session after the Charlotte City Council this week gutted its expanded nondiscrimination ordinance. That ordinance led to HB2's passage in March.

GOP Rep. Jeff Collins is against HB2's repeal and on the floor Wednesday challenged whether the session had been lawfully called.

The Senate's presiding officer - Lt. Gov. Dan Forest - put out a statement saying he doesn't favor repeal and worried it would open the door for another local government to "take us down this path again." Forest only votes in the Senate when there's a tie.

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City leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, have held an emergency meeting and taken more action designed to get a statewide law off the books that limits LGBT rights and designates which restrooms transgender people can use in public schools and government buildings.

The Charlotte City Council voted 7-2 on Wednesday to repeal the entire city ordinance members passed in February. It's part of a deal to get the state legislature to repeal House Bill 2 in a special session later in the day.

The council already had acted on Monday to throw out parts of the ordinance addressing the expansion of protections on things such as sexual orientation and gender identity when it came to public accommodations.

But some House Republicans are unhappy that Charlotte left in place some expanded non-discrimination protections required of businesses entering contracts with the city. The council's action Wednesday is designed to address their concerns.

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North Carolina lawmakers are meeting Wednesday to consider repealing a state law that limited LGBT rights, including which restrooms transgender people can use in public schools and government buildings.

But a last-minute obstacle has come up in the negotiations between state lawmakers and Charlotte officials, whose ordinance banning discrimination prompted the state law.

Rep. Chuck McGrady of Hendersonville says some House Republicans are concerned that the city did not repeal its entire ordinance Monday.

The city council is meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday to discuss their non-discrimination ordinance and HB2, as the state law in known.

The House Republican Caucus is also meeting Wednesday morning.

The parts of the city's ordinance that weren't dropped at Monday's meeting weren't affected by HB2, but there are still some concerns among some lawmakers.

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North Carolina's legislature is reconvening to see if enough lawmakers are willing to repeal a 9-month-old law that limited LGBT rights, including which bathrooms transgender people can use in public schools and government buildings.

House and Senate members plan to meet in the capital today for a special session called by outgoing GOP Gov. Pat McCrory.

The session is being held two days after the Charlotte City Council gutted an ordinance that in March led the Republican-controlled General Assembly to pass House Bill 2.

For months the state's Republican leaders said they were willing to consider repealing the law if Charlotte acted first to undo its expanded antidiscrimination ordinance. HB2 was a key issue in McCrory's election with Democrat Roy Cooper, who defeated McCrory by about 10,000 votes.

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North Carolina's outgoing Republican governor says that he will call legislators for a special session Wednesday so they can repeal the law known as HB2, which limits LGBT protections.

Gov. Pat McCrory issued a video statement Monday. Earlier in the day, he confirmed he would call a special session.

Republican legislative leaders say they'll take up the repeal.

The statewide law known as HB2 requires people to use restrooms in many public buildings corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates and excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from statewide antidiscrimination protections.

Democratic Gov.-elect Roy Cooper first gave word that the special session was happening.

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Charlotte city council Monday morning repealed its ordinance that prompted the passage of House Bill 2, setting in motion a possible repeal of the controversial state law.

Governor-elect Roy Cooper says state lawmakers will now be called back to Raleigh to repeal the law.

"Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore assured me that as a result of Charlotte's vote, a special session will be called for Tuesday to repeal HB 2 in full," said Cooper in a statement. "I hope they will keep their word to me and with the help of Democrats in the legislature, HB2 will be repealed in full."

The law, quickly passed and signed into law by current Gov. Pat McCrory, limited protection for LGBT residents. It caused several concerts, sporting events, and planned new jobs not to come to the state.

Charlotte's move is contingent on state legislators fully repealing HB 2 by December 31.

Gov. McCrory's office says he will call legislators back on Wednesday, adding he always publicly advocated a repeal of Charlotte's ordinance.

"This sudden reversal with little notice after the gubernatorial election sadly proves this entire issue originated by the political left was all about politics and winning the governor’s race at the expense of Charlotte and our entire state," McCrory press secretary Graham Wilson said.

One Pitt County lawmaker hopes things can now go back to where they were before. "A lot folks just want the whole thing to go away and for us to go back to our state where we before, where there were not any issues and not any problems and nobody pushing any agendas," said GOP Rep. Greg Murphy.

But some LGBT advocates don't trust the Republican-controlled legislature.

"They have no respect for the voters of this state, they have no respect for what is good for this state, they don't care," Amy Bright, New Greenville chair, said. "If they cared, they would have never passed the law to begin with and when they saw the economic damage it was doing, they would have repealed it then."

Bright is upset that Charlotte repealed their ordinance, and is concerned that state lawmakers will end up doing even more damage in Raleigh.