DGA Statement on McCrory Executive Order in North Carolina

DGA Statement on McCrory Executive Order in North Carolina

Today, the Democratic Governors Association released the following statement in response to Gov. Pat McCrory’s executive order in North Carolina:

“Pat McCrory’s executive order is all hat and no cattle,” said DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold. “McCrory’s order does nothing to substantively change the law he signed 2 weeks ago. Today’s PR stunt won’t change a single major element of HB2 and it won’t undo the economic damage Governor McCrory has inflicted on North Carolina.

“If Governor McCrory were serious about protecting North Carolina jobs, he would call for a full repeal of HB2,” Leopold continued. “Or better yet, he shouldn’t have signed the damaging law in the first place. Come November, North Carolina voters will remember the harmful impact of Pat McCrory’s discrimination law. No amount of window-dressing and political spin will change Governor McCrory’s record of killing jobs in North Carolina.”

This is what’s being reported about the impact of McCrory’s executive order:

Asheville Citizen-Times: “An executive order McCrory signed Tuesday leaves intact the primary provisions of HB2.” (4/12/16)

WRAL-TV (Raleigh): “Some of the order’s provisions would do little. For example, the order reinforces that private businesses can set their own policies with regard to bathroom usage. That’s something House Bill 2 would have already allowed.”

“Although McCrory includes his request to roll back HB2’s provision on wrongful termination lawsuits in the executive order, only the General Assembly can carry out such a rollback.” (4/12/16)

BuzzFeed News: “The order, however, does not change the elements of the statute that have been criticized by LGBT advocates and other opponents of the law.”

“It also does not withdraw a ban on cities enacting nondiscrimination ordinances that protect LGBT people.” (4/12/16)

WNCN-TV (Charlotte): “McCrory, however, did not address the issue of wages, which is a third, and significant, part of the bill.” (4/12/16)

The Guardian: North Carolina governor refuses to reverse anti-LGBT law in executive order

“The order also does not overturn HB2’s prohibition on “living wage” legislation – measures passed by cities that permit local governments to do business only with contractors paying above the minimum wage.” (4/12/16)

Huffington Post: “The only real change is the expansion of the state employment policies. Beyond that, McCrory simply reaffirms the provisions in the new law.” (4/12/16)

Vox: North Carolina’s governor just tweaked his anti-LGBTQ law. He basically changed nothing.

“The law still prohibits — and, in fact, McCrory affirmed that it prohibits — trans people from using the bathroom in schools and government buildings that matches their gender identity. And it still overrode and prohibited municipalities from banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. These provisions remain untouched, regardless of any expansion on state employment protections.

“In fact, the executive order mostly seems to reiterate what the law already allows.” (4/12/16)

Slate: North Carolina Governor Makes Minor, Contradictory Reforms to Anti-LGBTQ Law

“North Carolina Republican Gov. Pat McCrory issued a somewhat bizarre executive order on Tuesday, purporting to reform HB 2, the vicious anti-LGBTQ measure he signed into law less than three weeks ago.” (4/12/16)

Chris Geidner, BuzzFeed News:

“There is nothing substantive to this. Oddly, it acknowledges problems of NC HB2 without changing anything, which means problems continue.”

Matt Pearce, LA Times:

“So. Headline writers beware about North Carolina executive order.”

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