HB2 opponents book governor’s living room for event

Opponents of House Bill 2 have been blasting the governor’s mansion with air horns every Wednesday for months.

Now they’ve reserved the first floor of Gov. Pat McCrory’s residence for a “garden party.”

“While the current resident of the Governor’s Mansion isn’t a supporter of equality, it’s the people’s house and so we’re renting it out for the evening and throwing a party!” the liberal advocacy group Progress N.C. says in an invitation on its website.

It’s unusual for a group so vocally opposed to McCrory to get inside his house, but the governor’s mansion has a policy of renting to any nonprofit groups that want to hold events on the first floor or in the gardens.

A spokesman for the governor’s office described the policy when asked why the mansion recently hosted an event for the Jesse Helms Center. So Progress N.C. leaders decided to test out the policy.

“It remains to be seen whether that will be canceled,” Progress spokesman Logan Smith said of the July 13 event. “I do quite admire the governor’s office for its even-handed approach in allowing nonprofit organizations to rent out the mansion for events.”

Smith said his group doesn’t plan to protest McCrory from inside the governor’s living room, but it will enjoy a “front row performance” from the air horn protesters across the street.

“It’s a nonpartisan event,” Smith said. “We’re not going to be there campaigning for or against anyone. Hopefully we’ll have a chance for some members of our pro-equality community to say a few words.”

This story was originally published July 6, 2016 at 4:45 PM with the headline "HB2 opponents book governor’s living room for event."