Charlotte not budging on ordinance that spurred North Carolina bathroom law
Source: Reuters
POLITICS | Mon Sep 19, 2016 | 4:15pm EDT
Charlotte not budging on ordinance that spurred North Carolina bathroom law
By Colleen Jenkins | WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
The mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, refused on Monday to back off an ordinance that had aimed to expand anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender people in the state's largest city but also sparked a controversial state law.
The Republican leaders of North Carolina's legislature said in a statement late on Sunday they believed their colleagues would support repealing the law that voided the city ordinance - if Charlotte made the first move.
North Carolina's Republican governor and lawmakers blame Charlotte for spurring the state measure, which has drawn rebuke from major companies and sports organizations since it was passed in March.
The state law, known as House Bill 2, requires transgender people to use publicly owned bathrooms that correspond with the gender on their birth certificate and bars local ordinances protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination.
A spokesman for Governor Pat McCrory told local media last week McCrory would call a special session for legislators to consider a repeal of H.B. 2 if Charlotte rescinded its ordinance.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-north-carolina-lgbt-idUSKCN11P26D