Lawmakers in North Carolina could vote
as early as Thursday on a compromise bill that repeals House Bill 2.
According to The Charlotte Observer,
the deal was announced late Wednesday night.
Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, who
campaigned on a promise to repeal the legislation, said in a
statement that he supports the compromise.
“I support the House Bill 2 repeal
compromise that will be introduced tomorrow,” Cooper said. “It's
not a perfect deal, but it repeals House Bill 2 and begins to repair
our reputation.”
House Bill 2 was approved last year
during a one-day special session. It blocks cities from enacting
LGBT protections and prohibits transgender people from using the
bathroom of their choice.
According to a statement issued by
Republican leaders, the compromise bill would repeal House Bill 2,
but it would also leave bathroom regulation to the state and enact a
moratorium on LGBT ordinances until December 1, 2020.
Chris Sgro, executive director of
Equality NC, said that the deal would “continue to actively
discriminate against the LGBT community.”
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) tweeted
its opposition, calling the proposal a “bad deal that does not
actually #RepealHB2. Instead it doubles-down on discrimination.”