North Carolina governor signs executive order amending controversial bathroom law

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) has responded to pressure over his state's highly controversial law banning anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender people by signing an executive order amending the law on Tuesday. House Bill 2 — which McCrory notably did not repeal, as some critics had demanded — now says that businesses, schools, and government buildings can choose their own policies "with regard to restrooms, locker rooms, and/or shower facilities."

The earlier version of the law required people to use bathrooms that matched the gender they were assigned at birth.

Over the past week, major companies like PayPal and Deutsche Bank canceled plans to expand in North Carolina due to HB2. Bruce Springsteen also penned a widely circulated letter announcing he was canceling his concert in the state for the same reason.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"After listening to people's feedback for the past several weeks on this issue, I have come to the conclusion that there is a great deal of misinformation, misinterpretation, confusion, a lot of passion and frankly, selective outrage and hypocrisy, especially against the great state of North Carolina," McCrory said in a video released by his office. "Based upon this feedback, I am taking action to affirm and improve the state's commitment to privacy and equality."

Watch below. Jeva Lange