Charlotte not budging on ordinance that
spurred North Carolina bathroom law
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[September 20, 2016]
By Colleen Jenkins
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - The mayor
of Charlotte, North Carolina, refused on Monday to back off an ordinance
that had aimed to expand anti-discrimination protections for gay and
transgender people in the state's largest city but also sparked a
controversial state law.
The Republican leaders of North Carolina's legislature said in a
statement late on Sunday they believed their colleagues would support
repealing the law that voided the city ordinance - if Charlotte made the
first move.
North Carolina's Republican governor and lawmakers blame Charlotte for
spurring the state measure, which has drawn rebuke from major companies
and sports organizations since it was passed in March.
The state law, known as House Bill 2, requires transgender people to use
publicly owned bathrooms that correspond with the gender on their birth
certificate and bars local ordinances protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender people from discrimination.
A spokesman for Governor Pat McCrory told local media last week McCrory
would call a special session for legislators to consider a repeal of
H.B. 2 if Charlotte rescinded its ordinance.
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But Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, a Democrat, said the city had no
plans to reconsider the ordinance at a council meeting Monday night.
"We appreciate the state wanting to find a solution to the challenges we
are facing and applaud the governor for recognizing the state should
overturn H.B. 2, which the state can do at any time without any action
from the City of Charlotte," Roberts said in a statement.
Calls for a repeal of the state law mounted last week after the National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Atlantic Coast Conference
(ACC) pulled a total of 17 championship sporting events from North
Carolina in protest of it.
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A sign protesting a recent North Carolina law restricting
transgender bathroom access is seen in the bathroom stalls at the
21C Museum Hotel in Durham, North Carolina May 3, 2016.
REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/File Photo
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Previously, the National Basketball Association relocated its 2017
All-Star Game from Charlotte. Entertainers, including Bruce
Springsteen, canceled concerts and companies such as Deutsche Bank
scrapped plans to add jobs in the state over objections to the law.
Senate leader Phil Berger on Monday questioned whether Roberts was
seeking to "prolong this debate for political reasons – regardless
of the impact on Charlotte and our state’s business community."
LGBT advocates applauded the Charlotte mayor for standing firm,
while some business, tourism and hospitality groups urged elected
officials to find a compromise to end the economic fallout.
An Elon University Poll released on Monday found that almost half of
likely voters in the state oppose H.B. 2. But the survey also showed
McCrory leading Democratic challenger Roy Cooper by about 49 percent
to 46 percent and indicated that some opponents of the law still
planned to vote for the incumbent.
(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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