Tony Cope: HB2 hurting small businesses

Regarding the Feb. 7 news article “HB2 threatens 6 years of games, sports group says”: Recently, North Carolina lawmakers found out that the state is in danger of losing all NCAA championship events through 2022 if House Bill 2 is not repealed.

As a small business owner, I’m hopeful that we can finally put HB2 behind us, since it has created a hostile business environment that hurts small businesses and employees.

My company thrives because we work with large, national companies, and I’m worried that they, like the NCAA, will no longer want to do business in North Carolina if they feel it’s a discriminatory place to conduct business. We’ve already seen the ripple effects of this, such as PayPal’s decision to cancel expansion in Charlotte, which cost 400 new jobs.

Research shows that other small business owners are on the same page. Polling from Small Business Majority found 67 percent of North Carolina entrepreneurs believe there should be a state law prohibiting employment discrimination against gay and transgender people.

I want to create a positive and open environment for employees and clients, but HB2 is standing in the way. This law could further damage our small businesses, and I urge lawmakers to move forward with the newly proposed bills to repeal this legislation.

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Tony Cope: HB2 hurting small businesses."