North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) on Thursday signed a measure that rolled back the state's controversial "bathroom law" that required people use public restrooms and locker rooms based on what's on their birth certificate, not their gender identity.
"This was about more than sports and jobs, it was about discrimination and it was about North Carolina's reputation," Cooper said. "It was about wanting us to work toward ending discrimination, and I could not tolerate having HB2 be the law of the land in North Carolina." A compromise on the bill between Cooper and Republicans was made on Wednesday night, and on Thursday the state Senate passed it 32-16 and the House 70-48.
After HB2 passed, several businesses announced they would cut ties with North Carolina, and the NCAA said it would not consider holding championship games there until HB2 was repealed. The new bill repeals the bathroom law, but prevents local governments from passing or amending nondiscrimination ordinances until December 2020. Several LGBT groups say the bill does not safeguard transgender people, and the ACLU tweeted, "Disappointed the #NCGA just voted for a bill which fails to end LGBT discrimination in a move to put basketball over civil rights."
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