Political notebook: Again, HB2 reigns as king of controversy
Published 12:10 am Saturday, July 23, 2016
By Josh Bergeron
josh.bergeron@salisburypost.com
A lengthy web of political maneuvers over a period of months led to a decision this week that most North Carolina politicians seem to be unhappy about.
For Gov. Pat McCrory, the decision came after the “sports and entertainment elite, Attorney General Roy Cooper and the liberal media” misrepresented the law.
Cooper, running against McCrory in the 2016 gubernatorial race, hasn’t publicly said anything about the law. However, a spokesperson for his campaign blames McCrory for “refusing to take any action to stop the bleeding.”
The pair of gubernatorial candidates seem to face off on House Bill 2 more than any other issue, and controversial law has consistently been at or near the forefront of North Carolina politics since it first passed the General Assembly in March.
Following the NBA’s decision this week to pull its 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, the law has again rocketed to the top of N.C. political conversation.
Before we move further, a refresher: House Bill 2 was passed during a special session in reaction to a Charlotte nondiscrimination ordinance. House Bill 2 repealed the ordinance and created several new laws, including a mandate that people uses bathrooms in government facilities that correspond with the gender on their birth certificate.
Other provisions include preventing local governments from passing their own nondiscrimination ordinance or raising the minimum wage. People were also unable to sue in state court for discrimination because of House Bill 2 — a provision that was dropped in a recently signed bill.
Now, North Carolina’s political class is grappling with the NBA’s decision to pull the All-Star Game. The NBA says it will consider putting the game in Charlotte in 2019. On Friday, however, McCrory called the NBA’s decision “political quid pro quo” and “total P.C. B.S.”
““I’m disappointed,” McCrory said on Charlotte NPR station WFAE. “I strongly disagree with their decision. To put it bluntly it’s total P.C. B.S. It’s an insult to our city and an insult to our state.”
