Two Republican state Senators are now saying it may be time to modify or fully repeal North Carolina’s House Bill 2.
The change in sentiment is coming after the NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference announced this week that the groups would be pulling championship events held on neutral sites across North Carolina over HB2, which advocates maintain is the worst piece of anti-LGBT legislation in the nation.
The NCAA and ACC decisions followed the National Basketball Association moving the 2017 All-Star Weekend festivities from Charlotte to New Orleans over the legislation, which was passed and signed into law in a one-day special session in March.
The law immediately drew national headlines and some major companies announced they would no longer expand in the Tar Heel state due to the law.
After months of almost no movement from Republicans in the state legislature over any modifications to HB2 – other than restoring the right to sue for employment discrimination in state court – at least two state Senators are now calling for action. The News & Observer is reporting a Republican member of the House of Representatives is also calling for changes to the law.
Wake County Republican Tamara Barringer was the first GOP senator to call for the full repeal of HB2 following the NCAA decision earlier this week.
Barringer said in a statement that, “With the most recent announcements impacting our state, there are simply too many examples of very sad and unfortunate ramifications and unintended effects of HB2.”
Senator Rick Gunn represents portions of Alamance and Randolph Counties, and he joined Barringer’s call on Wednesday. Gunn’s movement came after the ACC decision.
“I think it is time we give serious consideration to modifying, or possibly repealing, HB2,” Gunn said in a statement.
Both Barringer and Gunn said they still had concerns over bathroom privacy but felt the negative impacts on North Carolina were now too much to continue forward.
Republican Governor Pat McCrory is continuing to call for federal courts to ultimately decide the fate of the controversial law. McCrory’s Democratic gubernatorial opponent Attorney General Roy Cooper, meanwhile, issued a statement on Wednesday continuing to call for the immediate repeal of HB2.
See the full statement from Gunn below:
“I’m opposed to giving men access to girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms, but I also am concerned about the impact HB2 is having on our state and the Triad – especially NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference athletic championship events – and I think it is time we give serious consideration to modifying, or possibly repealing, HB2. It is time for the federal courts to protect women and girls’ privacy and strike down President Obama’s bathroom sharing mandate.”
See the full statement from Barringer below:
“Whenever legislative bodies rush to judgment on important public policy decisions, there are unintended consequences. With the most recent announcements impacting our state, there are simply too many examples of very sad and unfortunate ramifications and unintended effects of HB2.
“I do not want men or boys legally to be able to share the same locker rooms or bathrooms with my 16-year-old daughter and her classmates or teammates. However, if we want to preserve the proud heritage of North Carolina, it is time for our leadership to consider a substantial and immediate repeal of HB2.”
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