At a news conference on Tuesday, North
Carolina Governor Roy Cooper unveiled a new plan to repeal House Bill
2.
The controversial law was approved by
Republicans during a one-day special session in March. It blocks
cities and municipalities from enacting LGBT protections and
prohibits transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice
in many buildings.
Passage of House Bill 2 led to an
economic boycott of North Carolina worth more than $400 million in
lost revenue, according to an analysis by Wired.
“I know North Carolinians are tired
of hearing about this,” Cooper said in a statement. “HB2 has
divided us and stained our reputation. I’ve proposed a common sense
compromise that will get HB2 off the books and address concerns on
both sides. It’s time for Republican leaders to step up and lead
their members because February needs to be the month we get this
done.”
Cooper's plan calls for repeal of the
law, increasing the penalties for crimes committed in bathrooms and
dressing rooms and requiring cities and municipalities to notify
state lawmakers before voting on non-discrimination ordinances.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, criticized the plan for adding
“unnecessary language addressing problems that simply do not
exist.”