North Carolina Attorney General Roy
Cooper announced Tuesday his opposition to recently enacted
legislation that nullified Charlotte's LGBT protections ordinance.
House Bill 2 – which was approved
during a one-day special session – prohibits cities and towns from
enacting measures that prohibit discrimination based on sexual
orientation or gender identity and bars students attending public
institutions from using the bathroom that does not conform to their
gender at birth.
Cooper, a Democratic gubernatorial
candidate, told reporters that he won't defend the measure in court.
“Over the last 15 years, our office
has defended the state, it's officials and agencies when they've been
sued. Our office will continue to do that, except it will not defend
the constitutionality of the discrimination in House Bill 2,”
Cooper
told reporters during a press conference.
On Monday, four rights groups filed a
legal challenge to the law.
(Related: Rights
groups challenge North Carolina's anti-gay law.)
“Discrimination is wrong. Period.
The governor and the legislature should repeal this law. Repeal will
save needless litigation costs and will begin to repair our national
reputation,” Cooper said.
Cooper in 2014 refused to defend the
state's ban on gay marriage in court.