NC House Gives Final Legislative Approval to HB2 Repeal…

After more than an hour of impassioned, sometimes angry, debate over legislation that would repeal a controversial state law that limits LGBT rights and transgender bathroom access, the House approved the measure Thursday by a 70-48 vote.

The Senate voted 32-16 in favor of the proposal earlier in the day, so it now heads to Gov. Roy Cooper for his signature.

Republican legislative leaders and Cooper announced late Wednesday that they had reached an agreement to repeal House Bill 2, which was passed just over a year ago and has brought nationwide scorn on the state.

“It’s not a perfect deal, but it repeals House Bill 2 and begins to repair our reputation,” Cooper said in a statement.

“This is a significant compromise from all sides on an issue that has been discussed and discussed and discussed here in North Carolina for a long period of time – for the past year at least,” Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger said Thursday. “It is something that, I think, satisfies some people, dissatisfies some people, but I think it’s a good thing for North Carolina and represents, as I said, a significant compromise.”

House Bill 2 was passed to nullify a Charlotte ordinance that required businesses to allow transgender people to use the public bathroom of their choice. The state law said private entities could set their own bathroom access rules and required that people use bathrooms in schools and other government buildings that match the gender listed on their birth certificates.

The law also created a statewide nondiscrimination policy that excluded gay and transgender people and barred cities and counties from extending such protections to them.

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(Source: http://www.wral.com/latest-hb2-clears-first-hurdle-in-senate/16615133/)