A LITTLE TOO LATE

Pat McCrory Signs Executive Order Making Anti-LGBTQ Law Slightly Less Anti-LGBTQ, Calls Naysayers Misinformed Hypocrites

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After weeks of negative press, North Carolina’s anti-LGBTQ governor Pat McCrory has finally responded to the endless backlash he’s received for signing HB2, a law that effectively legalized LGBTQ discrimination in the Tar Heel State.

“You know, 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 says in a new video statement.

Did you catch that, folks? He just called all you naysayers of his discriminatory law misinformed, confused, outrageous hypocrites.

“But,” he quickly adds, “based upon this feedback, I am taking action to affirm and improve the state’s commitment to privacy and equality.”

Related: So North Carolina Just Became The Most Homophobic State In The Nation

That action comes by way of an executive order McCrory signed early today making a teeny tiny revision to the sweeping anti-LGBTQ law — a law that has drawn harsh criticisms from countless allies including rock superstar Bruce Springsteen and progressive companies like PayPal and Apple, and even the White House.

HB2 originally voided all local nondiscrimination ordinances statewide and banned transgender people from using public restrooms that didn’t match their biological sex at birth. Executive Order 93 doesn’t lift that bathroom ban, but it does add sexual orientation and gender identity protections to the state’s employment policy for state employees. It also says the governor’s office will “seek legislation to reinstate the right to sue in state court for discrimination.”

The executive order doesn’t guarantee such legislation will actually be reinstated, however, nor does it make any mention of the other offenses HB2 ushered in, including stripping away local control of minimum wage laws and employment discrimination laws.

So, basically, the law is still really awful, but it’s a little less awful than it was.

“I know these actions will not totally satisfy everyone,” McCrory says, “but the vast majority of our citizens want common sense solutions to complex issues. This is the North Carolina way.”

Related: Adult Site Cuts Service In North Carolina In Protest Of Anti-LGBTQ Law

h/t: The New Civil Rights Movement

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