North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper pledges to fight discrimination
The new governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, has pledged to fight against discrimination in his inaugural speech.
The Democratic Governor vowed he would overthrow work done by former notoriously anti-LGBT governor Pat McCrory by getting rid of LGBT limiting laws and expanding coverage under Medicaid.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony yesterday, Cooper promised to rebuild the state and help create “a government that reflects the priorities of its people.”
He said: “When a law attempts to make any North Carolinian less in the eyes of their fellow citizens, I will fight it. I will stand up for you if the Legislature cannot or will not.”
Cooper’s cracking down on repealing HB2 after failing to repeal the law last month.
The bill which would have repealed the law was introduced, but it included a moratorium which would have included a six-month-or-longer period during which local ordinances could not be passed around employment practices, public accommodations or bathroom access.
Republicans introduced the moratorium to stop the city of Charlotte, which introduced a law protecting transgender rights, from re-introducing its measure which was rolled back by HB2.
Charlotte had agreed to repeal its local ordinance as part of negotiations to hold the session to repeal HB2.
But LGBT rights supporters and Democrats rejected the moratorium, saying it limited local authorities’ rights to protect people.
However, the governor promised to not be deflated, and has stood firm on getting the bill repealed.
“This is not complicated. In fact, it’s very simple: Let. Them. Vote.”
The bill, which among other things forces transgender people to use the bathroom of the sex they were assigned at birth, has been controversial since it was instated.
It’s estimated that the boycotts, alongside other legal fees and pullouts, cost the state $395 million.
