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.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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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
badtungsten
This executive order does nothing. HB2 explicitly states that no other non-discrimination policy shall be enforceable other than the one defined in state law, which does NOT include sexual orientation. This is an empty gesture and an attempt to lessen the heat on McCrory. Nothing will resolve this furor other than complete repeal and explicitly defining non-discrimination against LGBT into state law. I guess Mike Pence and Indiana weren’t big enough examples for North Carolina to avoid their same fate.
Blackceo
Bet you this thread doesn’t get as many comments as the one that American Idol runner up LaPorsha got when this guy is way more offensive and powerful in his statements and influence.
gaym50ish
No matter what changes they make now, or what future discriminatory bills get vetoed in other states, Fortune 500 companies are going to be VERY wary about locating or expanding in any Bible Belt state.
1EqualityUSA
I still think it is a red herring. Why this year? Are we to look the other way? From what are our eyes being averted?
In non-election years, this may have been legitimate wrangling. The timing of this is suspicious. Do they not realize that these laws tend to backfire? The laws grow more progressive with every political attack. People, who may have never been brought into the conversation on equality issues, have opportunities to decide for themselves how it is they see us. We are tax-paying, law-abiding citizens of this Country. There may be those who see our point. Education comes about with every one of these time-suck-fiasco-hate-fests.
Stephen Meeks
Nope, not nearly enough. We won’t be bought.
Brian
I can live with the adjustments designed to prevent discrimination against homosexuality.
It was stupid of the legislature to enact this law in the first place.
The transgender issue is completely different. Many reasonable people do not want women entering men’s restrooms, or men entering women’s restrooms. I don’t care what you think you are – it’s irrelevant.
jimontp
There is no mis-information, no mis-conception here.
The bill you signed into law in NC is blantently anti-GLBT. The NC assembly wrote it that way and you signed it.
Now, when corporations, tourists, other states, as well as the Federal Government take action against you,
you try to squirm out of the consequences.
TOO F_CKING BAD.
You lose. No conventions, no business investments, no tourists.
Live in your isolation from the twenty first century.
Transiteer
A very big DO NOTHING in this shell game. The hypocrite here is this half-wit, bone-headed hillbilly Governor and his likewise sheep. It’s a Legalized Hate bill – nothing else. This announcement is just bare faced lying. Trying to undo damage they inflicted on themselves. They started off dancing sitting down, so proud to get this repugnant Bill passed. Now the State is taking major economic hits, unemployment lines are going to get longer, and their reputation mired into the cow shit as it richly deserves. This effort shows they’re hurting. I hope they hurt a lot more. “Land of the Free”???? What a f**king joke.
JerseyMike
@Blackceo: THANK YOU!!! All that fake azz outrage over someone who has zero power but this nitwit is making crazy laws that hurting many. Lets see if this page fills up with the outrage..
Brian
@Transiteer: You are not entitled to the privilege of entering a woman’s restroom if you are male. If you’re male, you should use the men’s restroom, just like everybody else.
And, yes, many laws are based on hate. I hate theft, I hate violence. Much of our laws are based on a hatred of theft and violence.
Brian
@jimontp: Many people visit North Carolina because of its lovely beaches. That will not change.
1EqualityUSA
Nom-skull, brian. Is this what they do to you? NOM likens our fight for rights with rape and murder, you, theft and violence. NOMishness
Mike Slaughter
That is not going to work either.
woodin
Gay community, friends and families want to inflict grass roots level pain in the local pocket…..cancel beach vacations. Plenty of beaches up and down the coast
GC1985
@Brian: You are delusional and you don’t understand what the bill in North Carolina really was. And you are now denigrating trans people, much the same way as you constantly insult women.
Your ignorance in equating the freedom and equality of the community to theft and violence shows how ridiculously ignorant you are. I bet McCrory is a hero to you because he threw you a bed crumb. This explains why you support Donald Trump. You are nothing more than a self hating bigot willing to kiss up to right wing politicians.
You don’t quite grasp how badly screwed you are going to be if these guys continue to (mis)rule.
@Brian: Mediocre beaches. Plenty of other better beaches in other states. Keep kissing up to bigotry, numb skull!
@Brian: And what you think is totally irrelevant… So try again.
GC1985
@GC1985: *bread crumb. Damn autocorrect.
GC1985
Our website clown is basically blaming trans people for these bills in being signed. So basically Republicans wouldn’t go after us, if it wasn’t for trans people… This is according to him and other closet queens on here. Do you think we are stupid in actually believing that?
It is like he has been living under a rock in the past 10 or 15 years, or even two or three years. They are trying to pass these fake religious freedom bills regardless.
Brian
I don’t support North Carolina’s anti-homosexual laws but I do support its trans laws. Trans laws are designed to keep public amenities proper. It’s a matter of propriety.
If trans folk and their enablers don’t wish to understand that, more’s the pity. Learn to live by the rules.
Giancarlo86
TROLL >>>>>> @GC1985 <<<<<< TROLL
GC1985
@Brian: Yet you have no proof for how you are keeping things proper. You are a liar and not a very good one. The religious right uses the same lack of logic.
@Giancarlo86: Oh look everybody… It is the same brainless tool who steals usernames and can’t come up with his own. You are the real troll.
GC1985
FAKE <<<<<< @Giancarlo86: >>>>>> FAKE
Next time come up with your own name, fool.
It is all so boring. Or did your last account get banned? You are flagged.
Also can someone tell Brian about trans men. Try to tell them to use the women’s bathroom and see how well that works out.
DCguy
I live all of these hateful bigots want to blatantly attack people but not be CALLED bigots.
Sorry governor, you are a bigot, this law is bigoted and your state is now suffering the repercussions of that.
onthemark
Here is McCrory’s next revision. North Carolina still has a lot of leftover “Colored” restrooms that have been used as storage rooms since 1965! These can easily be re-converted into Trans restrooms.
1EqualityUSA
“Learn to live by the rules.” We wouldn’t be married right now, if we listened to you, Brian.
Brian
The problem with a lot of you is that you don’t get it. You are well meaning but you don’t get it. Here’s why.
When homosexually-inclined men were fighting for homosexual rights all those years ago, it was under the umbrella of “we are entitled to the right to privacy and to be treated like all other consenting adults”. It was a powerful umbrella. The umbrealla grew into a powerful narrative that has led to massive legislative changes around the world, and rightly so.
Today’s trans movement does NOT want to be treated like everybody else. It wants privileges. It wants men who look like women to be able to enter PUBLIC restrooms reserved for women. So you have a combination of privilege-seeking and public encumbrance. It is a whole different kettle of fish to that which represented the homosexual rights movement.’
I know a lot of you are sympathetic to trans folk. I always treat people – regardless of what they think of themselves – as nicely as I can up to a certain point. But I won’t tolerate privilege-seeking by anybody.
1EqualityUSA
So, you must not believe people when they say that they are the opposite gender. This is a non-issue. Who cares? Besides bigots wanting to point at “the other.”
GC1985
@Brian: Homosexuality-inclined men – That sounds like you are saying they have some sort of illness. The problem is you don’t seem to get anything. Nobody wants to live in your view of the world (which is reminiscent of the 1930s). You wrote approving comments of what was going in the 1930s… what you seem to forget is people were imprisoned if they were caught having same sex relations or even sexual encounters.
And your concept of the history of the equality movement is totally wrong. The movement was based in left wing activism and the act of demanding equal recognition. It wasn’t about privacy, but actual acceptance. I am sure Harvey Milk would have agreed with me. Psychos, like yourself, caused so many good people to be lost (like Milk).
It isn’t different at all. Trans people are more like us than you think. Your horrid ideas are the same the Christian right used towards gay people for years. You have a form of deeply embedded homophobia. Privilege seeking? Same accusation the religious right threw at gay people.
The movement was always about being out and demanding acceptance. What do you think the slogan “we’re here! We’re queer! Get used to it!” means? That was never about just privacy and that slogan is decades old.
rbernard
Oh that is so rich – Governor Patrick McCrory is calling the naysayers of his HR 2 hate law misinformed, confused, outrageous hypocrites.
The bigoted governor knows precisely what he as been doing, following a national script republican state legislatures were given by the SPLC antigay hate group,the Liberty Counsel. This script provides the bathrooms and showers talking points meant to confuse the public with obfuscation. Obfuscation is the obscuring of intended meaning in communication, making the message confusing, willfully ambiguous, or harder to understand.
We can’t reason with unreasonable people and the only thing they understand is the power of money.
Our boycott should be expanded till it damages North Carolina’s economy to the point where it outrages the voters and the republican menace is voted out of office.