‘Comprehensive’
Governor Roy Cooper says he will issue expanded protections for LGBT people by executive order “pretty soon.” The North Carolina Democrat came under fire after signing into law legislation that claimed to repeal the devastating anti-trans law HB2, but banned localities from enacting LGBT protections until the end of 2020, leaving the state worse off than it had been before HB2 became law.
“I’m going to issue an executive order pretty soon that is comprehensive, that helps with LGBT protections and we’re going to keep working every day,†Governor Cooper said Tuesday at the Center for American Progress’ Ideas conference, HuffPost reports.
Explaining his decision to sign the widely-derided compromise legislation, Cooper said it moved the state forward.
“I had a choice,” Cooper told attendees. “Do I continue to make a statement and pound the table and [make] nothing happen? Or do I take a positive step, make progress and continue to fight?”
“I chose the latter for my state because we got rid of the birth certificate requirement. We opened up the ability of local governments to provide some protections now and some in the future.”
It’s unclear exactly how far the executive will extend, but it’s clear North Carolina Republicans will fight it. On Monday the Supreme Court refused to review a case which North Carolina GOP lawmakers brought, hoping tom overturn a Circuit Court’s ruling that determined their voter ID law was intentionally discriminatory and unconstitutional.
In March, before the repeal, an AP study found HB2 was on track to cost the Tar Heel State $3.76 billion.
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