North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper on
Saturday reiterated his call for lawmakers to repeal a law that
targets the LGBT community.
Cooper was sworn in as North Carolina's
75th governor just minutes after midnight on New Year's
Day.
House Bill 2 is the controversial law
that blocks cities and municipalities from enacting LGBT protections
and prohibits transgender people from using the bathroom of their
choice in many buildings. Passage of the law prompted governments,
businesses and entertainers to boycott the state. A last-minute
effort to repeal the law before Cooper took office failed.
(Related: GOP
leader claims Roy Cooper killed repeal of anti-LGBT bill HB2.)
“There are enough bipartisan votes in
the Legislature right now to fully repeal House Bill 2 with no
strings attached,” Cooper said in his inaugural address. “This
is not complicated. In fact, it's very simple: Let. Them. Vote.”
Republicans in at least six other
states, including Kentucky, Alabama, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas
and Missouri, have introduced similar bills in the past week.
(Related: Virginia
Republican introduces transgender “bathroom bill.”)