RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Gay rights groups that fiercely supported Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s winning campaign last fall because of his pledge to repeal North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” now say he betrayed them by accepting the recent compromise.
Many fellow Democrats also were upset, although the majority of them in the General Assembly supported the agreement to replace the law also known as House Bill 2.
Human Rights Campaign, Equality North Carolina and others said a complete HB2 repeal – nothing else – was the only solution.
Cooper says the compromise was the best he could get with Republican legislative leaders holding veto-proof majorities. The new law does repeal HB2, but keeps state lawmakers in charge of future public bathroom policies. And local governments can’t expand most nondiscrimination protections for nearly another four years.