HB2 deal: Governor says it's possible to reach agreement on repeal

Gov. Roy Cooper and legislative leaders said this week that it might still be possible to work out a deal that would lead to the repeal of House Bill 2, which has caused a great deal of controversy since it was enacted.

The law says that transgender people must use the public restroom that matches there anatomical gender, not the gender of their preference.

The law came about as the General Assembly's answer to the city of Charlotte passing an ordinance that specifically protected transgender residents who chose to use restrooms of their gender identity.

Social conservatives say the state law is mere common sense, that men dressed as women should not be permitted to use women's restrooms. Supporters of transgender rights say it is discriminatory.

We have supported the law since its inception, but we admit that it was a non-issue until the Charlotte council passed its ordinance. What bothers us is that the argument for doing away with the law is based on the argument that the state is losing money because sports and entertainment acts have canceled appearances in the state due to the law.

We don't like it when money influences public decisions that should be above the dollar.

Published in Editorials on January 18, 2017 9:11 AM