HRC, ENC and Civic Leaders Speak Out Against Calls To Rescind Charlotte Non-Discrimination Ordinance

WASHINGTON —  The Human Rights Campaign, Equality NC and other civic leaders held a news conference Monday morning at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center.

The coalition called for Charlotte lawmakers to retain the city’s non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people. This comes on the heels of some lawmakers who say they will consider repealing HB2 only on the condition that Charlotte revokes its ordinance.

“Stripping away the rights of Charlotte’s own LGBTQ community is no bargain,” said JoDee Winterhof, HRC Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs. “Lawmakers in Raleigh, under intense pressure to fix a problem they — and only they — created, are proposing a rotten deal. This is nothing but a tired tactic already used once by Governor McCrory and his allies back in May. Nobody should take the bait by dropping the very protections businesses, the NCAA and other organizations have now made clear are needed and are a priority.”

More than 19 states, 100 communities and hundreds of Fortune 500 companies have non-discrimination protections like Charlotte.