How's that detestable HB2 law working out for ya, North Carolina GOP? Not so well, apparently. In fact, bad enough that at least two of a previously unreachable cadre of Republicans who are running the state into the ground are having second thoughts. That's the power of basketball in the Tar Heel State after the NCAA (and ACC to boot!) ditched North Carolina for less discriminatory lands. Now two state senators are starting to see HB2 in a different light.
GOP Sen. Tamara Barringer of Cary on Tuesday called for a "full and complete" of the law, which among other things prohibits transgender individuals from using the bathroom consistent with their gender and also prohibits local jurisdictions from enacting pro-LGBTQ protections.
“I did not realize the consequences of this bill, that it would have worldwide consequences, and they just keep piling up,” the lawmaker said. “So, at this point, I’m willing to stand up and say, ‘Let’s put the brakes on it. Let’s get together and find a common solution that we call can live with and move forward.’”
That led to a more squishy backpedal on Wednesday from Sen. Rick Gunn of Burlington:
“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.”
Thanks for that complete misrepresentation of transgender bathroom use, Sen. Gunn. Still, the rest of the statement is a total departure from the pig-headed ain't-no-way we’re gonna budge mentality of a previously unyielding GOP caucus. That's a start. Reality seems to finally be creeping into that dark, dark corner they've all been huddled in.