The issue is that it seems like Cooper didn't consult with businesses to make sure this would bring them back. Now he's sold out his LGTBQ constituents for potentially nothing. If businesses reject this for the shallow band-aid that it is then the only thing that's really changed is that he and the Dems now own this awful law just as much as the GOP and can't use it as a line of attack anymore. The restrictions against anti-descrimination ordinances last until 2020 at which point Cooper could easily get ousted by a GOP challenger (especially now that he's pissed off a voting block that helped him win by a very tight margin) giving the GOP the ability to put in more permanent restrictions.
Depending on whether businesses see this as enough or not, Cooper may have made things worse for himself than if he'd done nothing at all.
The thing is that when the businesses don't come back that will give Cooper more leverage to get rid of every part of the bill. Baby steps.
Haha. This is why people don't vote. Democrat is just as dumb as the Republican.
This half-measure only exists because of the supermajority of pubs in the state congress.