WASHINGTON ― North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) vowed Tuesday to issue an executive order “pretty soon” to increase protections for LGBTQ people in the state. The pledge follows the state’s partial repeal of HB2, a law barring local governments from passing any anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay and transgender people.
“I’m going to issue an executive order pretty soon that is comprehensive, that helps with LGBT protections and we’re going to keep working every day,” he said during the Center for American Progress’ Ideas Conference. Cooper’s office told HuffPost they could not immediately give additional details about the order.
Cooper signed the compromise legislation into law in March and it’s due to remain in effect until 2020. The partial repeal keeps some elements of HB2, including barring municipalities from passing nondiscrimination protections that regulate private employment or public accommodations. LGBTQ rights groups criticized the compromise.
On Tuesday, Cooper said he wanted a clean repeal without a compromise but didn’t think it would be feasible, since North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature operates under the Hastert Rule. That means one has to have the majority of one’s own party to get anything considered on the floor.
“I had a choice. Do I continue to make a statement and pound the table and nothing happen? Or do I take a positive step, make progress and continue to fight?” he said. “I chose the latter for my state because we got rid of the birth certificate requirement. We opened up the ability of local governments to provide some protections now and some in the future.”
North Carolina has lost at least $376 billion since former Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed HB2 into law. Since the compromise, businesses have reinitiated their relationship with the state and Cooper says that’s because they recognize his commitment to getting a full-repeal.
“I knew we had to make a step and that’s why I did it. It was the right thing to do. Diversity is our strength,” he said. “North Carolina is a welcoming state ― we’ve just gotta make sure that our laws catch up with our people.”
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
from The Huffington Post | The Full Feed http://ift.tt/2rmrkdN
via IFTTT
EmoticonEmoticon