RALEIGH, North Carolina, July 1, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – An attempt to change parts of North Carolina’s bathroom privacy law, HB2, was unsuccessful in the North Carolina General Assembly this week, a state pro-family leader told LifeSiteNews.
On Tuesday, someone within the Republican House Caucus leaked a proposed draft of updates to the bill, NC Values Coaltion executive director Tami Fitzgerald said, which set off “a flurry of activity.”
Pro-family advocates have praised the bathroom privacy bill, which prevents biological men from accessing women’s restrooms, locker rooms, and showers since it passed and was signed by Governor Pat McCrory in March. LGBT groups have demanded a full repeal of the law. Numerous celebrities and corporations are boycotting the state in protest.
Despite its willingness to do business with counties that kill or imprison homosexuals, PayPal withdrew its plan to open an office in North Carolina after the bill became law.
The National Basketball Association is one of the most prominent corporations lobbying for a change to the bathroom privacy law. If North Carolina does not comply with its demands, the NBA may move its scheduled 2017 All-Star Game out of the state.
“We have been hearing rumors all session that there were some changes being discussed in the Republican house caucus to House Bill 2,” said Fitzgerald, changes that pro-family advocates found unnecessary given their view that the bill as it is currently written is sound legislation.
The proposed version that was floated earlier this week “did not repeal House Bill 2 or substantially weaken the intent or effect of House Bill 2, so I guess we’re grateful for that,” Fitzgerald told LifeSiteNews.
The proposed changes to the bill included the creation of a task force to study state and federal anti-discrimination policies. Fitzgerald said she believes that that measure was ultimately stripped from the proposed changes.
None of the proposed changes gutted from the law its prohibition on cities passing ordinances allowing men to access women’s restrooms and vice versa.
On Thursday, the NBA announced that they were not satisfied with the latest version of the bill. The NBA and the Charlotte Hornets said in a statement:
We have been engaged in dialogue with numerous groups at the city and state levels, but we do not endorse the version of the bill that we understand is currently before the legislature. We remain committed to our guiding principles of inclusion, mutual respect and equal protections for all. We continue to believe that constructive engagement with all sides is the right path forward. There has been no new decision made regarding the 2017 NBA All-Star Game.
“It appears that the NBA ended the process of seeking changes to House Bill 2 on their own,” said Fitzgerald.
“The legislature was probably willing to make some changes,” to HB2, Fitzgerald said, but any proposed changes to the law “weren’t enough” for the LGBT advocates.
LGBT advocates “want complete repeal,” Fitzgerald said, “and they’re not going to stop until they see men in women’s and children’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers…it’s always been about the bathrooms for the [Human Rights Campaign], and this move by the NBA I’m sure at the behest of the HRC just exhibits that.”
Fitzgerald said she hopes the NBA does not withdraw its 2017 All-Star game from North Carolina over the law.
“I believe that it’s wrong for a sports organization whose very business plan is built on sex discrimination to demand that the government impose a different form of sex discrimination on the citizens of a sovereign state,” said Fitzgerald. “So I hope that the NBA will stick to what they do best, and that is playing basketball and not demanding public policy.”