Won't anyone sit down to talk with governor?

Published February 17, 2017

Editorial by Rocky Mount Telegram, February 17, 2017.

Compromise has been described as the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.

By that definition, we suppose, Gov. Roy Cooper's attempt to find a palatable way to repeal House Bill 2 has failed. His compromise proposal this week seemed to leave both sides spitting out the crumbs. No one asked for more.

Which is a shame for North Carolina. We all know the financial ramifications. We've lost enough companies, concerts and sporting events already. Cooper expedited his proposal in hopes of staving off more disappointing decisions by the ACC and NCAA regarding future playoffs and championships.

It's clear that Republicans have no intention of doing anything about House Bill 2 – the so-called bathroom bill – regardless of the stain it leaves on North Carolina's reputation.

The reasons seem far more political than practical. PolitiFact – a feature in The (Raleigh) News & Observer – reported last year that there had been only three provable offenses involving transgender women in public rest rooms in the entire country. And all of those occurred in states in which there was no law allowing transgender people to use facilities for the gender they most closely identified with.

Cooper's proposal would repeal the requirement that transgender people use public restrooms that match the gender on their birth certificates. It would, however, toughen laws against assaults in public restrooms.

N.C. Senate Pro Tem Phil Berger has said he sees no point in going further with Cooper's plan because he doesn't believe the governor will enforce any such law. But if Berger were sincere about finding a solution, he could toughen the legislation to his own suiting. That’s what the legislature does.

Critics from the left don't like the idea of requiring cities to notify the legislature at least 30 days in advance of enacting ordinances to allow transgender bathroom rights. But surely ridding the state of the law as it stands is a better alternative to what we have.

Throughout history, tough solutions to far tougher issues have been created when reasonable leaders sit down and work out reasonable compromises. Cooper has shown a willingness since before he took office to sit down at that table.

Won't anyone join him?

http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/Editorials/2017/02/17/Won-t-anyone-sit-down-to-talk-with-governor.html

February 17, 2017 at 10:01 am
Richard L Bunce says:

"Critics from the left don't like the idea of requiring cities to notify the legislature at least 30 days in advance of enacting ordinances to allow transgender bathroom rights."

Irrelevant. NC State Chartered Municipal Corporations only have the powers explicitly enumerated to them by the NC Constitution and NC Statute. They have not been granted the power to enact ordinances on this topic. The NC Legislature should repeal HB2 and revoke the City of Charlotte Municipal Charter. That would set the right tone going forward.

February 17, 2017 at 2:09 pm
Aprille Sweatt says:

There are NO Uniform Crime Reports statistics on transgender crimes in bathrooms, etc. Allowing any gender in any bathroom, locker rooms and showers, changing rooms, etc. and WAITING UNTIL crimes against PEOPLE (not property) to occur and THEN punishing the offender with tougher laws is ridiculous. Will signs also be posted outside these areas stating, "Enter at your own risk"? If the ACC and NCAA are so "gender neutral," why aren't BOTH sexes - biological and transgender - playing on the SAME team instead of separate male and female teams? The safety of our children and adults is more important than MONEY. Law enforcement officers who have investigated sexual assault cases and victims of sexual assault know and can testify that "look, don't touch" is highly unsafe and WRONG. Adam and Eve could NOT "look, don't touch," and I'm sure that today's society will not follow that rule either.