North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association Calls For The Repeal Of Charlotte's Anti-Discrimination Ordinance

So, the best my alcohol riddled brain can comprehend is that in order to stem the tide of boycotts and canceled sporting events, the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association, and the state need to be even more homophobic. Got it.

Story out of Raleigh, North Carolina:

Gov. Pat McCrory’s office announced Friday that he is willing to call the N.C. General Assembly back into a special session if the Charlotte City Council repeals its ordinance that triggered the controversial House Bill 2.

“For the last nine months, the governor has consistently said state legislation is only needed if the Charlotte ordinance remains in place,” said Josh Ellis, communications director for McCrory. “If the Charlotte City Council totally repeals the ordinance and then we can confirm there is support to repeal among the majority of state lawmakers in the House and Senate, the governor will call a special session. It is the governor’s understanding that legislative leaders and the lieutenant governor agree with that assessment.”

Several versions of a compromise deal have been in the works, some offered by lawmakers, others by lobbyists — including the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association, who said they are working to stem what they say is collateral damage to the tourism industry in the wake of the law.

The announcement comes after the Atlantic Coast Conference followed the NCAA in announcing it would move 10 college sports championships from North Carolina in protest of the controversial House Bill 2 law. On Monday the NCAA announced it would relocate seven championship sporting events. The decision sparked outrage and accusations of playing politics ahead of the November gubernatorial election.

The H.B. 2 measure, enacted in March after McCrory called a special session of the General Assembly to override Charlotte’s ordinance, requires individuals to use bathrooms in government buildings that correspond with the biological sex listed on their birth certificate if a gender-neutral “family” bathroom is not available. In N.C. the sex listed on a birth certificate can be changed with a notarized statement from a doctor who performs reassignment surgery.

The law also bars local governments from enacting local anti-discrimination ordinances more stringent than state law. It was passed after the Charlotte City Council passed an ordinance that made any differentiation in sexes in public accommodations illegal in the city. Cont.

Here is the NCRLA press release in full:

The unintended consequences of Charlotte City Ordinance #7056 and House Bill 2 have taken a considerable toll on our state as a whole. The hospitality industry has become collateral damage in a fight it did not start or ask for. Restaurant and lodging businesses and their employees are suffering the adverse impact of these policies though lost business and wages.

The North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association (NCRLA) urges policy makers on all sides of this issue to work together to find resolution quickly. “NCRLA has received assurances this week from legislative leadership, that if the Charlotte City Council repeals Ordinance #7056 at their meeting on Monday, the General Assembly is prepared to meet in special session as early as next week to repeal House Bill 2,” said Lynn Minges, NCRLA president and CEO.  “Furthermore, Governor Pat McCrory has assured NCRLA that he is willing to call legislators into a special session next week for this purpose if both the city and legislators have the votes for repeal,” she said.

The North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association calls on Charlotte City Council to repeal ordinance #7056 immediately, on Governor McCrory to convene a special session of the NC General Assembly, and on the NC House and Senate to repeal House Bill 2 in its entirety.

We believe these actions are necessary as many complex issues have arisen since the passage of the Charlotte City Ordinance #7056 and House Bill 2; we also believe all elements of the debate should be carefully, thoroughly, and deliberately considered and evaluated through the immediate formation of a study commission.

Story from - North State Journal