Deal Struck to Repeal N.C.’s HB 2 — But Is It Enough?

On Wednesday, North Carolina legislators announced that they have reached a deal to repeal the state’s infamous anti-LGBT House Bill 2 — but the repeal measure may leave some of the controversial law’s provisions in place, bringing opposition from LGBT rights proponents.

Currently, HB2 bars local municipalities from creating their own rules prohibiting discrimination in public places based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Though North Carolina does have a statewide nondiscrimination law, it does not include specific protections for LGBTQ people.

The law also directs all public schools, government agencies and public college campuses to require that multiple-occupancy bathrooms and changing facilities, such as locker rooms, be designated for use only by people based on their “biological sex” stated on their birth certificate. Transgender people can use the bathrooms and changing facilities that correspond to their gender identity only if they get the biological sex on their birth certificate changed.

Lawmakers in North Carolina have appeared to reach an agreement to repeal HB2, just before crossing a deadline that would keep NCAA games out of the state until at least 2022.

State Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore announced the deal in a brief press conference Wednesday night and said a vote would come on the repeal measure Thursday morning, The Charlotte Observer reports. They took no questions and released no details, but Gov. Roy Cooper issued a statement of support.

“I support the House Bill 2 repeal compromise that will be introduced tomorrow,” Cooper said, according to the Observer. “It’s not a perfect deal, but it repeals House Bill 2 and begins to repair our reputation.”

But, like a previous effort at compromise in December, the bill bars local governments from passing legislation addressing discrimination in employment and housing until 2020. Berger and Moore say that would give time for lawsuits to be addressed in the courts, but LGBT advocates claim its a deal-breaker.

“Lawmakers must reject this disgraceful backroom deal that uses the rights of LGBT people as a bargaining chip,” said Sarah Gillooly of the ACLU of North Carolina. “It is shameful that legislative leaders and North Carolina’s governor are once again rushing through a discriminatory anti-LGBT measure without proper vetting or an opportunity for public input.”

And Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin issued a statement saying, “The rumored HB 2 ‘deal’ does nothing more than double-down on discrimination and would ensure North Carolina remains the worst state in the nation for LGBTQ people. The consequences of this hateful law will only continue without full repeal of HB 2. Sellouts cave under pressure. Leaders fight for what’s right.”