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Despite last-minute pleas, NC lawmakers could end HB2 in special session

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Tripon

Member
Despite last-minute appeals, North Carolina lawmakers could repeal the state’s so-called “bathroom bill” on Wednesday, putting an end to a nearly year-long legal, cultural and economic battle

Lawmakers are scheduled to convene another special session at 10 a.m. to consider repeal of House Bill 2, the law that limits LGBT protections and requires transgender people to use the restroom corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate.

Republican Gov. Pat McCrory called the special session Monday after Charlotte City Council, in a surprise move, rescinded the ordinance that prompted it.

Democrats credit Gov.-elect Roy Cooper with helping broker the deal. Republicans say the Charlotte council finally did what it had refused to do at least twice before under the Republican governor.

“The city council has taken care of their side of the equation and we need to take care of ours,” said GOP Sen. Jeff Tarte of Cornelius.

A group of Charlotte pastors held a news conference outside Charlotte’s Government Center Tuesday. Mark Harris, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Charlotte, urged lawmakers not to repeal HB2.

“We urge them to stand strong,” he said.

Republican Rep. Craig Horn of Union County said he’ll “probably” vote for repeal. The chair of the House Education Committee, he said his main focus is schools.

“I can’t continue to be distracted by other issues,” he said.

Republican Rep. Leo Daughtry of Johnston County acknowledged that some lawmakers would feel relief. “And some feel we got caught in a political trap,” he said. “Earlier efforts were made in September to try to do the same thing. Now that the election is over it seems to be much easier.”
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article122038109.html#storylink=cpy

Weird that this is happening now. This is some political football.
 

mreddie

Member
LaJ9Kmo.gif
 
This should happen. After Cooper gets into office so he can veto it.

Cooper doesn't have the authority to veto municipal laws. And why would he veto anti-discrimination legislation anyways?

I think you guys are confused.

The Charlotte ordinance *protected* LGBT people from discrimination. HB2 was passed to overturn the Charlotte ordinance and to prevent other cities from passing similar legislation.

I'm saying that if HB2 is repealed, Charlotte should reinstate their ordinance banning LGBT discrimination after Cooper is in office and the state legislature will be powerless to stop them.
 

Killthee

helped a brotha out on multiple separate occasions!
Good on them. But why, why now?

It just don't make no sense
It's in the OP, Charlotte caved to the GOPs demands by repealing their city LGBT protection ordinance.

Republican Gov. Pat McCrory called the special session Monday after Charlotte City Council, in a surprise move, rescinded the ordinance that prompted it.

Democrats credit Gov.-elect Roy Cooper with helping broker the deal. Republicans say the Charlotte council finally did what it had refused to do at least twice before under the Republican governor.

“The city council has taken care of their side of the equation and we need to take care of ours,”
said GOP Sen. Jeff Tarte of Cornelius.
Here's the city's statement:
So yeah, it's all about the $$$$ :/
 
Good on them. But why, why now?

It just don't make no sense

As the others above me said, the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 2 in direct response to Charlotte passing their LGBTQ protection ordinance in an effort to

A) disenfranchise minorities (the bathroom provision is the most visible so that's what all the national talk became about, but the original draft of the bill was draconian and far-reaching, even beyond the LGBTQ community. The most controversial provision was actually a protection for business owners from lawsuits for firing their employees due to wrongful discrimination for ANY reason, including race, gender, and sexuality). So it's actually WAY worse than it may appear on the surface.

B) Limit the power of the state's biggest city and other Democratic strongholds throughout the state


The NCGOP pushed it through the NCGA by a rushed special session without any kind of forewarning or public debate and McCrory signed it into law (even though it came out later through leaked emails that he actually felt that HB2 was an overreach) because that's the kind of spineless leader he is.

Cue the national controversy and business after business pulling out of NC (and cities like Charlotte and Greensboro specifically) and lawsuits from the US DOJ.

As early as May of this year, we heard the first overtures from leaders of GOP in the state legislature that they would be willing to repeal HB2 if Charlotte repealed their ordinance first. Up to this point they have refused. As for what's changed: most likely having a Democratic governor-elect gives the city a sense of security that if the NCGA tries to pass such a law again, they now have a veto (worth noting that the NCGOP currently has a veto proof majority in both houses but 9 senate and 20 house seats are in play during the 2017 special elections). Cooper's victory in many ways was a political referendum on HB2, considering that McCrory managed to lose amongst a wave of Republican victories in the state.

As a lifelong North Carolinian, it's a bittersweet victory(EDIT: I'm going to hold from saying victory, I don't trust Raleigh that much right now to keep to their word). Obviously HB2 has been a drain economically on the state and every second it's law of the land it would have been a black mark on the state. The NCGA was never going to blink first on this; they would have been more than happy to take it to court and waste years and millions of taxpayer dollars defending this law if need be. This is the most expedient resolution.

But at the same time, you could perceive this as Charlotte "selling" out the LGBTQ community favoring business (the Charlotte City Chamber has been advocating they take this deal for months btw) over the political rights of a significant subset of the population. They could have held their ground, waited it out, and let the courts eventually strike down all or part of HB2 (very good chance that would have happened)
 
Cooper doesn't have the authority to veto municipal laws. And why would he veto anti-discrimination legislation anyways?

I think you guys are confused.

The Charlotte ordinance *protected* LGBT people from discrimination. HB2 was passed to overturn the Charlotte ordinance and to prevent other cities from passing similar legislation.

I'm saying that if HB2 is repealed, Charlotte should reinstate their ordinance banning LGBT discrimination after Cooper is in office and the state legislature will be powerless to stop them.
Sorry I meant if the Republican legislature went back and did HB2 again as a result, he would be able to veto that. Sorry for not being clear.
 
Sooooo after 13 hours of deliberation, the NC State Senate has voted to table reconsideration on HB2. The special session has been adjourned with no action made and House Bill 2 is still the law of the land in the state of North Carolina.

The NCGOP got Charlotte to pull their ordinance with a phony deal and then never put a full repeal of the law on the floor for consideration.

If they weren't so nefarious, I would call them political geniuses.

Like I said, HB2 will get struck down by the courts. Probably 3 years, billions of dollars in lost business revenue, millions of dollars of taxpayer money, and priceless reputation lost from now.
 
Sooooo after 13 hours of deliberation, the NC State Senate has voted to table reconsideration on HB2. The special session has been adjourned with no action made and House Bill 2 is still the law of the land in the state of North Carolina.

The NCGOP got Charlotte to pull their ordinance with a phony deal and then never put a full repeal of the law on the floor for consideration.

If they weren't so nefarious, I would call them political geniuses.

Like I said, HB2 will get struck down by the courts. Probably 3 years, billions of dollars in lost business revenue, millions of dollars of taxpayer money, and priceless reputation lost from now.

Wait seriously? How fucking evil can you get? And now Charlotte can't even reinstate it correct?

Shit like this is exactly why trying to negotiate with the modern GOP is a fools errend.
 

Vena

Member
Sooooo after 13 hours of deliberation, the NC State Senate has voted to table reconsideration on HB2. The special session has been adjourned with no action made and House Bill 2 is still the law of the land in the state of North Carolina.

The NCGOP got Charlotte to pull their ordinance with a phony deal and then never put a full repeal of the law on the floor for consideration.

If they weren't so nefarious, I would call them political geniuses.

Like I said, HB2 will get struck down by the courts. Probably 3 years, billions of dollars in lost business revenue, millions of dollars of taxpayer money, and priceless reputation lost from now.

Holy shit.

They really do want to get dragged into the streets, don't they?
 
If I'm reading this right, then NC not repealing HB2 just causes the Charlotte Ordinance to kick back in next year.

▪ Monday morning: In a surprise, unannounced move, Charlotte City Council met early Monday and voted unanimously to repeal key parts of the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance. The repeal covered the most controversial portion of the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance passed in February, which allowed transgender individuals to use the bathroom corresponding to the gender with which they identify.

The city’s repeal was contingent on the legislature meeting and repealing HB2 by Dec. 31, however.
In response to the City Council vote, Gov. Pat McCrory called for a special session on Wednesday.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article122325299.html
 

Vena

Member
They know they wont be which is precisely why they did it.

I wouldn't be so sure. There's a tipping point, and frankly from what we've seen over the last half-year to a year in NC... they're pushing awful close.

Some of these reps and senate seats are going to get torched in the next special election in 2017. That's a political equivalent to getting dragged into the streets.
 
Sooooo after 13 hours of deliberation, the NC State Senate has voted to table reconsideration on HB2. The special session has been adjourned with no action made and House Bill 2 is still the law of the land in the state of North Carolina.

The NCGOP got Charlotte to pull their ordinance with a phony deal and then never put a full repeal of the law on the floor for consideration.

If they weren't so nefarious, I would call them political geniuses.

Like I said, HB2 will get struck down by the courts. Probably 3 years, billions of dollars in lost business revenue, millions of dollars of taxpayer money, and priceless reputation lost from now.

"you go first"

LOL

Ds fell for it again
 
If I'm reading this right, then NC not repealing HB2 just causes the Charlotte Ordinance to kick back in next year.



http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article122325299.html

Hopefully this is the case.

I wouldn't be so sure. There's a tipping point, and frankly from what we've seen over the last half-year to a year in NC... they're pushing awful close.

Some of these reps and senate seats are going to get torched in the next special election in 2017. That's a political equivalent to getting dragged into the streets.

Ill believe it when i see it. This BS didn't stop the GOP from winning in a landslide this year. I doubt most of their constiuents care.
 

phanphare

Banned
Sooooo after 13 hours of deliberation, the NC State Senate has voted to table reconsideration on HB2. The special session has been adjourned with no action made and House Bill 2 is still the law of the land in the state of North Carolina.

The NCGOP got Charlotte to pull their ordinance with a phony deal and then never put a full repeal of the law on the floor for consideration.

If they weren't so nefarious, I would call them political geniuses.

Like I said, HB2 will get struck down by the courts. Probably 3 years, billions of dollars in lost business revenue, millions of dollars of taxpayer money, and priceless reputation lost from now.

fucking hell man
 

Vena

Member
Ill believe it when i see it. This BS didn't stop the GOP from winning in a landslide this year. I doubt most of their constiuents care.

In NC? A state of now-ruled unconstitutional gerrymandering and that just had its incumbent governor kicked out?

Perhaps I am just too optimistic.
 
If I'm reading this right, doesn't this mean that if NC doesn't repeal HB2 then the Charlotte Ordinance kicks back in?



http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article122325299.html

That was as of Monday.

This morning the Charlotte City Council passed a revised order that fully repealed the February non discrimination ordinance (small bits of language were left in on Monday) and got rid of the Dec. 31st deadline.

Why?

Because last night, the NC GOP raised a stink

Tuesday: As lawmakers gathered in Raleigh on Tuesday ahead of the special session, some Republican members and media reports charged that Charlotte City Council hadn’t actually repealed all of its ordinance. House Republicans spent four hours in a caucus meeting Tuesday night.

The confusion apparently stemmed from which parts of the city’s nondiscrimination protections were repealed. Sections preventing city contractors from discriminating based on new categories such as gender identity – which the city amended in February along with the restroom and locker room, or “public accommodation,” sections – were left on the books. The Charlotte city attorney later said that since City Council’s repeal addressed the public accommodations addressed by HB2, they thought it was sufficient.

As it became apparent the HB2 repeal might be in serious trouble, Charlotte City Council issued an unusual statement at 11:24 p.m. from Republican member Ed Driggs. He said that there was no intent to deceive the state and offered to reconvene City Council immediately to “address any unintended omissions.”

▪ Wednesday: At 1:11 a.m., the N.C. GOP issued a statement charging that “City Council lied to the public about a full repeal” and “seriously harmed HB2 repeal efforts.”

“The HB2 blood is now stain soaked (sic) on theirs alone,” wrote the party’s executive director, Dallas Woodhouse.
Per the CLT Observer

Mayor Roberts, the Charlotte City Councial, Gov-Elect Cooper, all got played big time here.
 

Koomaster

Member
Surprise, surprise, sur.. wait, not so surprised.

Can we stop negotiating with the GOP and trying to meet them in the middle? Seriously, can we? Because you'd think there is only so many times Lucy can pull the football away from Charlie Brown before he'd learn.

This was already a pretty shit deal and they didn't even uphold their end of it.
 
Ugh yeah this is not surprising. Apparently Charlotte's repeal was first contingent on HB2 repeal but the Dems removed that conditional when GOP asked. What the fuck. The Dems seriously thought that they could trust NCGOP after the coup they just pulled. Seriously what the fuck.
 

Biske

Member
Ugh yeah this is not surprising. Apparently Charlotte's repeal was first contingent on HB2 repeal but the Dems removed that conditional when GOP asked. What the fuck. The Dems seriously thought that they could trust NCGOP after the coup they just pulled. Seriously what the fuck.

Never underestimate how weak and stupid Dems are.

Bunglers of the highest order.

Who needs enemies when you have Dems on your side.
 
and the craziest part is some people in the ACA thread were upset at Chuck Schumer

“We’re not going to do a replacement,” Schumer said of the Senate Democratic caucus. “If they repeal without a replacement, they will own it. Democrats will not then step up to the plate and come up with a half-baked solution that we will partially own. It’s all theirs.”

you can't trust those motherfuckers. hope Chuck sees this and keeps his word.
 
That was as of Monday.

This morning the Charlotte City Council passed a revised order that fully repealed the February non discrimination ordinance (small bits of language were left in on Monday) and got rid of the Dec. 31st deadline.

Why?

Because last night, the NC GOP raised a stink


Per the CLT Observer

Mayor Roberts, the Charlotte City Councial, Gov-Elect Cooper, all got played big time here.

Infuriating.
 

Mathieran

Banned
These fuckers aren't even working in good faith anymore. Completely despicable people. I have no respect for anyone who voted for them.
 
That was as of Monday.

This morning the Charlotte City Council passed a revised order that fully repealed the February non discrimination ordinance (small bits of language were left in on Monday) and got rid of the Dec. 31st deadline.

Why?

Because last night, the NC GOP raised a stink


Per the CLT Observer

Mayor Roberts, the Charlotte City Councial, Gov-Elect Cooper, all got played big time here.
Idiots. I mean, I expect this kinda shit from the GOP. It's terribly disgusting, but I fully expect that. That these guys let themselves get completely played like that is what I don't understand. Have they not been paying attention at all with just how low these guys are willing to go? You can't compromise with them. You just can't. It doesn't work. *Sigh.*
 
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HB2 superseded the Charlotte ordinance anyway so the status quo of the last 9 months is still in place.

I'd say maybe Charlotte could inquire to see if South Carolina is willing to annex it but Haley leaving to join Team Trump means that SC is about to return to total zannyness soon as well.

In a lot of ways, I think what we've seen happen in North Carolina is a precursor for what we will see in the country as a whole. A lot of money was invested by conservative PACs (most notably the Koch Bros and Heritage) to build and maintain this current GOP supermajority in the General Assembly and having a Republican governor for the past 4 years has allowed the state to become a test bed of sorts for all manner of regressive policies (voter suppression, Amendment 1, House Bill 2)
 
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