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North Carolina House Bill 2

North Carolina governor Pat McCrory fires back at NBA decision over All-Star Game

Scott Gleeson
USA TODAY Sports

North Carolina governor Pat McCrory, who signed the discriminatory House Bill 2, continues to stand by the controversial law that reversed a Charlotte ordinance extending rights to members of the LGBT community.

The NBA's decision to relocate the All-Star Weekend on Thursday — which will cost the state an estimated $100 million — left McCrory fuming.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory speaks during a candidate forum in Charlotte, N.C. North Carolina’s Republican lawmakers have legalized needle and syringe exchange programs across the state to combat a heroin epidemic law enforcement officials say is reaching critical levels.  McCrory on Monday, July 11  approved the law despite objections from some conservative representatives who say such exchange programs only facilitate addictions.

“The sports and entertainment elite, Attorney General Roy Cooper and the liberal media have for months misrepresented our laws and maligned the people of North Carolina simply because most people believe boys and girls should be able to use school bathrooms, locker rooms and showers without the opposite sex present," McCrory said in a statement.

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"Twenty-one other states have joined North Carolina to challenge the federal overreach by the Obama administration mandating their bathroom policies in all businesses and schools instead of allowing accommodations for unique circumstances. Left-wing special interest groups have no moral authority to try and intimidate the large majority of American parents who agree in common-sense bathroom and shower privacy for our children. American families should be on notice that the selective corporate elite are imposing their political will on communities in which they do business, thus bypassing the democratic and legal process.”

The law, which was passed by the state’s general assembly during a special session in March, bans local municipalities from enacting non-discriminatory ordinances designed to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The state’s general assembly had a chance at revising the bill before adjourning for the year but did not add any changes that appeased the NBA.

More than 200 major CEOs and business leaders signed an open letter calling for full repeal of HB2 — including many of North Carolina’s largest employers. LGBT advocacy groups were extremely critical of McCrory, who drew major backlash on social media as well.

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Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC, said in a statement: "North Carolina General Assembly leadership and Governor McCrory repeatedly ignored the warning bells as businesses, conferences and entertainers left the state. From the beginning, NBA leadership has been clear that HB2 creates an untenable situation and jeopardizes the safety and comfort of their fans. We hope that North Carolina's leadership will heed this wakeup call and repeal HB2 before we suffer even more as a state."

Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin also called for a full repeal of HB2 and added, "McCrory doubled down on HB2 and refused to undo their discriminatory and costly error in judgment. Every day that HB2 remains on the books, people across North Carolina are at risk of real harm."

Progress NC Action executive director Gerrick Brenner said the relocation was "further evidence that HB2 is an economic disaster for North Carolina."

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"Over $100 million in economic activity is leaving our state because of Gov. McCrory's discriminatory law, on top of the hundreds of jobs and millions in tourism dollars that our state has already lost over HB2. But instead of admitting his mistake, the governor is busy raiding our disaster relief fund to defend this man-made disaster of a law in court. It’s time for Gov. McCrory to accept reality and call for a full repeal of HB2 before any more damage is done to our economy.”

On Wednesday, in response to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewsi calling HB2 "embarrassing," McCrory's communications director, Josh Ellis, provided USA TODAY Sports with the following statement: “Twenty-two states, including North Carolina, are embarrassed the Obama administration is forcing a mandate that requires one gender to share locker room and shower facilities with the opposite gender in our middle school, high schools and universities as opposed to allowing each school to make reasonable accommodations for unique circumstances. The courts will now resolve this issue.”

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