CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, the Democratic candidate for governor, on Tuesday reiterated his call for Republican Gov. Pat McCrory to call a special session to repeal House Bill 2, which limits protections for LGBT individuals.
Cooper was speaking to the Hood Hargett club in Charlotte. McCrory is speaking separately to a Rotary club in Charlotte.
"We know it causes significant economic damage," Cooper said. "It likely won't stop until we do something about it."
McCrory signed HB2 into law in March to nullify a Charlotte ordinance, which had generated controversy by protecting transgender people who use public restrooms based on their gender identity. HB2 also overrode local ordinances around the state that would have expanded protections for the LGBT community.
Critics have said HB2 discriminates against LGBT individuals, while proponents say it protects bathroom privacy.
Tuesday's appearances by the two gubernatorial candidates comes a day after Charlotte city officials refused to rescind the ordinance that led to HB2, at least for now. Republican leaders have accused Cooper and Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts of working to torpedo a compromise.
Cooper said Tuesday that McCrory has blamed "me, the president, the city of Charlotte, the liberal media and Bruce Springsteen" for HB2.
Republican financier Art Pope of Raleigh, among those trying to broker a deal with the various sides, said Tuesday he doesn't expect the legislature to repeal the bill on its own.
Pope was urging repeal of both the state law and the city ordinance and the formation of a blue ribbon commission to explore a long-term solution.
"In my opinion, when the Charlotte City Council refused to rescind the ordinance, that pretty well ended the immediate chances of the legislature doing anything on HB2 between now and the 2017 legislative session," he said.
Senate GOP Leader Phil Berger had said in a statement that the city's refusal to act "makes me question if (Mayor Jennifer Roberts) and Roy Cooper are really serious about trying to find a solution, or if they would rather prolong this debate for political reasons _ regardless of the impact on Charlotte and our state's business community."
Berger said if the City Council doesn't trust the legislature, it could rescind its ordinance only on the condition that the legislature repeal HB2.
Pressure on the city and lawmakers from the business community increased after the Atlantic Coast Conference last week joined the NCAA in announcing it would move a series of championship games from North Carolina because of HB2. An ACC spokeswoman declined to say whether there's a deadline for the conference to reconsider before actually moving the games.
"The Council of Presidents, the chair of the Council of Presidents and Commissioner (John) Swofford all made statements on the memberships decision to relocate all neutral site championships," Amy Yakola said in a statement. "We do not have any statements beyond the three coming out of last week's meeting."
