CHARLOTTE: Mayor Says City Council Won’t Consider McCrory’s “Compromise” To Repeal LGBT Rights Law

The Charlotte Observer reports:

Despite pressure from business leaders, Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said Monday the city won’t repeal the ordinance that led to House Bill 2 this week – and maybe not at all.

And in a memo to the City Council, the city attorney said the General Assembly doesn’t need the city to rescind its ordinance in order to repeal HB2. Legislative leaders had made dropping the city ordinance a condition for repealing HB2.

“Some people don’t realize there’s no legal reason for Charlotte to do anything, and that’s the point we want to make clear to the community,” Roberts told the Observer.

The ordinance, which was nullified by HB2, extended anti-discrimination protection to the LGBT community and would have allowed transgender people to use the bathroom or locker room of their gender identity.

Roberts’ comments came after a news conference in which LGBT leaders accused Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and legislative leaders of “holding Charlotte hostage.” State Rep. Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC, called HB2 “the worst anti-LGBT law in the nation.”

On Friday, the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association announced it was trying to broker a compromise to stop the economic damage from HB2. And Sunday the Charlotte Chamber, along with hospitality and tourism leaders, called for the city and state to repeal the controversial laws.