RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina lawmakers filed bipartisan legislation Wednesday aimed at breaking an impasse over the state’s “bathroom bill,” but it’s likely to face tough going in the Republican-controlled legislature.
Two House Republicans and two Democrats sponsored the measure that would repeal House Bill 2, the law approved last March. But the proposal contains add-ons that led gay rights groups as well as Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper — who prefers a simple repeal — to immediately pan the measure.
HB2 requires transgender people to use multi-stall restrooms in schools and other public buildings that correspond to the sex on their birth certificates and blocks expansion of LGBT rights in local ordinances and state law. It drew national protests.
Republican state Rep. Chuck McGrady of Hendersonville, one of the sponsors of the compromise bill, said he hopes it can secure enough votes for passage in his chamber. A deal between Cooper and Republican legislative leaders in December to repeal HB2 fell apart amid political acrimony.
“It’s a bill that I view as sort of a bipartisan path forward to deal with an issue that is very complex and needs to be resolved,” McGrady told reporters.
GOP lawmakers approved HB2 in response to Charlotte city leaders approving a February 2016 ordinance that would have allowed transgender people to use the restroom aligned with their gender identity. The state law prompted some businesses and sporting events to spurn North Carolina. The NBA moved its All-Star game out of Charlotte, and the NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference withdrew championship events this academic year.
Attempts at a resolution have mounted after worries the NCAA would soon remove from consideration local bids to host events through 2022.
