Second GOP NC senator calls for action on HB2

A second Republican state senator is calling for changes to House Bill 2, possibly a repeal, following this week’s cascade of collegiate sports championships being pulled out of North Carolina over protests that the law is discriminatory to gay and transgender people.

Sen. Rick Gunn of Burlington issued a statement on Wednesday night:

“I’m opposed to giving men access to women’s and girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms, but I am also concerned about the impact HB2 is having on our state and the Triad — especially NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference athletic championship events — and I think it is time we give serious consideration to modifying or possibly repealing HB2. It is time for the federal courts to protect women’s and girls’ privacy and strike down President Obama’s bathroom sharing mandate.”

Gunn is referring to states challenging the Obama administration’s directive to school districts to expand transgender students’ access to bathrooms and locker rooms.

On Tuesday, Sen. Tamara Barringer, a Republican from Cary, expressed similar sentiments about bathrooms but more firmly came out in favor of repealing HB2, due to unforeseen economic impacts.

Both senators are in re-election campaigns, and represent areas hit hard by the NCAA and ACC announcements.

Democrats and opponents of HB2 have been calling for a repeal of the law most of the year, and the battle cry was reignited by the college sports’ announcements. But so far there has been no indication that House or Senate leaders will consider calling a special session to attempt a repeal.

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 8:32 AM with the headline "Second GOP NC senator calls for action on HB2."