No deal but repeal
Published May 26, 2016
Editorial by Greensboro News-Record, May 25, 2016.
The Charlotte City Council refuses to capitulate.
There was talk of a bargain. Some council members met with state legislators, and a sketchy “compromise” emerged. If the council would vote to rescind its LGBT rights ordinance, the legislature might modify House Bill 2.
No deal. The council defeated a motion Monday to delete the measure it approved in February, by the same 7-4 vote.
North Carolina is in trouble because of HB 2. The Charlotte Chamber estimated Tuesday that the economic damage just to Mecklenburg County so far amounts to $285 million and 1,300 jobs.
Greensboro is hurting, too. The War Memorial Commission wrote to Gov. Pat McCrory May 12 that the Greensboro Coliseum Complex and city “are experiencing economic difficulties of unprecedented proportions due to the passage of the bill known as HB2.” It asked the governor to “reverse your support of this economically harmful legislation.”
The harm was not initiated when the Charlotte council adopted its nondiscrimination ordinance in February. It was triggered March 23 when the legislature and McCrory enacted HB 2, which barred all North Carolina cities from passing measures to protect LGBT people from discrimination. So the remedy isn’t for Charlotte to offer a symbolic surrender by removing an ordinance that already has been nullified by state law.
The people of North Carolina know this. Public Policy Polling reported Tuesday that 56 percent believe HB 2 is hurting the state, and only 28 percent of women believe it has made anyone safer.
A very clear voice sounded Saturday at Elon University, where David Gergen addressed the graduating class of 2016.
Gergen, a North Carolina native, is one of the most respected men in American public affairs — a key adviser to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton and co-director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. He also chairs the advisory board for the Elon University School of Law in Greensboro.
“I want to talk about the deepening concerns that I and many others have about the future of North Carolina, our beloved state,” he said. “Repeatedly in recent years, and especially in recent months, forces of political extremism have asserted themselves here, representing a sharp break from our past. After decades of struggle to become a just and fair people, we are sliding backwards. We are not only damaging our reputation but putting our fellow citizens at risk.
“Enough is enough. For those of us who have stayed on the sidelines, it is time to stand up and be counted. It is time to raise our voices against this darkness. Indeed, it is time for fellow citizens of all stripes — white and black; young and old; native and newcomer; men, women and people of chosen gender — everyone — to join forces and preserve the best of who we are as a people.”
He couldn’t be more right. Only the legislature and governor can repair the damage they have brought to North Carolina. They must repeal HB 2.
May 26, 2016 at 10:15 am
Richard L Bunce says:
Actual the State Chartered Municipal Corporation that is the City of Charlotte had never been given the power by the State Legislature to regulate restroom usage... the Legislature did over react with HB2 when it simply should have notified the Charlotte Council that they did not have the power to regulate restroom usage with an ordinance and if they attempt to enforce the ordinance the Legislature will revoke their Municipal Charter.
