Several Members of LGBT Community Sue North Carolina Over House Bill 2

All eyes are once again on North Carolina, following the announcement of the lawsuit against the State over House Bill 2.

I talked with several lawmakers today who say the future of House Bill 2 is still up in the air.

“Through this bill I have been denied fundamental rights impacts me and many more in the State,”says Joaquin Carcano,

Joaquin Carcano, just one of three plaintiffs joining the fight against the State over House Bill 2.

The ACLU, Lambda Legal, ACLU of North Carolina and Equality NC filed a lawsuit on their behalf in federal court Monday.

They say the law, signed last week, doesn’t protect the state’s LGBT community from discrimination.

“The threat of this bill that it presents to LGBT people and the whole of North Carolina is real and it’s immediate .”

The lawsuit names Governor Pat McCrory, Attorney General Roy Cooper, and the University of North Carolina.

The Governor’s office responded in this statement:

“The Governor respects the right of any legal challenges; however, he does not respect the continued distortion of the facts by the groups challenging this law and by many members of the state and national media.”

North Carolina State Senator Jeff Jackson says “We just repealed every non-discrimination ordinance in the state.”

State Senator Jackson was among the Democrats who walked out during the special session vote last week.

He says they plan to also fight back against the bill in their next session.

“Democrats are going to introduce a bill to repeal this and it’s basically going to say this never happened,” says Jackson.

Republican State Representative Dean Arp voted for House Bill 2 and says it won’t just go away.

“We used the same traditional protections that are in federal law so to to somehow say North Carolina is doing something less than protecting the rights and rights of its citizens is laughable,” says Representative Arp.

If the bill to repeal doesn’t work than the lawsuit filed Monday is their only hope.

But even if a Judge sides with the plaintiffs — appeals cold keep them in court for years.

“It’s going to take Republicans realizing that they really stepped in it in order for them to agree with the repeal.  It’s in their interest, the question is will they rise above their pride and admit they made a mistake,” says Senator Jackson.