GOP Sen. Richard Burr has clearly seen the writing on the wall for North Carolina's anti-transgender HB2 law and is now advocating for parts of it to be changed, reports Jon Camp of ABC11 WTVD:
Sen. Burr says he supports most of the bill but takes issue with two components: one that strips people of their right to sue for discrimination at the state level, the other regarding the "bathroom portion" of the bill. [...]
"It's now time," Burr told ABC11 after a Raleigh event, "for the General Assembly to take the opportunity that if we can roll this back, that it's probably in the best interests of North Carolina. [...] I think the legislature should go back and look at what they did, talk with Charlotte and figure out, as it relates to bathroom issue, there can be resolution. There didn't seem to be a problem before. Charlotte created the problem and the General Assembly further created a problem."
Burr's comments build on his assertion last week that GOP lawmakers "botched" the law, and are likely the result of multiple developments, including news that the Fourth Circuit has declined to review an earlier pro-transgender ruling and the fact that Burr is now in a tight re-election race with his Democratic rival Deborah Ross. Originally, Burr said he saw no economic downside to HB2, testily declared that he wasn't going to get into “that crap” when asked about it, then said he’d “leave it up to the courts” to decide the fate of the law.
But the symbolic import of Burr’s evolution from HB2 agnostic to (partial) repeal advocate cannot be overstated. He put his finger up to the political winds and found it was blowing in the opposite direction of all the hot air coming out of his mouth. That means Gov. Pat McCrory and his GOP cronies are on the losing end of this battle and Burr knows it. But partial repeal isn’t good enough.
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