No Compromise: Where We Stand Now On House Bill 2

This week, Gov. Roy Cooper proposed a compromise on repealing House Bill 2, the law that limits legal protections for LGBT people.

The deal would have repealed the law while also toughening penalties for crimes committed in bathrooms. But Republicans and some Democrats said they weren't interested.

WFDD's Sean Bueter talked with Catawba College Provost and professor Michael Bitzer to bring us up to speed on where we are with the law.                                                                                                       

Interview Highlights

On the difficult political position in which Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican leaders find themselves:

I think [Cooper] is trying to find some vein which he can tap into to make it palpable to at least a majority within the Republican Party of trying to find something. But the leadership certainly through Sen. Phil Berger and Speaker Tim Moore just was was a nonstarter. It was almost D.O.A.: Dead On Arrival. And I think what is really happening is that both sides are being energized by their respective bases.

On the Democratic side, it is advocates for lesbian and gay and transgender individuals saying there should be no compromise. A full repeal: that's what we want.

On the Republican side it is very much rural conservatives who are very much opposed to anything that urban interests want, particularly when it comes to issues of gay rights. So I think both sides are being trapped by their respective bases. And there is no wiggle room in the middle for any kind of compromise to be had.

On the rising stakes in the fight over HB2:

I think certainly the fallout from HB2 has only intensified over the past year. I think the the continued issue of games and championships by the NCAA and the ACC only further compounds the issue and it will have a lasting impact. I mean, if the NCAA decides to pull all of North Carolina's bids for the next six years that is going to have a significant economic impact and will continue to be a divisive issue in this state in terms of how the state is being perceived both nationally and potentially internationally.

So it only compounds the issue and the pressure, particularly on Gov. Cooper but, I would also have to say, on the Republican leadership to try and find some way to at least alleviate all of this intense public pressure on the state of North Carolina.

On whether there's a political solution to the controversy on HB2:

I think the rhetoric and the pressure that is being caused by this rhetoric over this issue is so intense now. And both sides are so entrenched in their respective corners that, realistically in my mind, it is going to have to be a third party, most likely the courts, to step in and address this issue. I don't see really how any proposal from either side is going to generate any kind of goodwill.

The special session that ended in a stalemate and basically failure to repeal HB2 exposed the kind of divide between the interests of Charlotte and urban North Carolina versus rural North Carolina. And I think that was pretty deep. I was just shocked by some of the things said about both sides coming out of that special session. And I'm afraid that the wounds have not healed in any way shape or form.