21 Dec, 2016 22:03

North Carolinians irked that 'bathroom bill' not repealed in House special session

Despite an hours-long “special session,” the North Carolina House of Representatives did not manage to repeal HB-2, which became law last Spring. Opponents of the so-called “bathroom bill” say it discriminates against those who identify as transgender.

Frustrated North Carolinians took to Twitter Wednesday to demand the House vote to repeal the new law, with the hashtag #RepealHB2 becoming a top trend nationwide.

Republican legislators received much of the blame for the lack of action in the House, but there was plenty of anger directed at the entire state legislature as well. While Republicans were the most split on the matter of repeal, Democrats were not fully aligned either. Rep. Ken Goodman (D-Montgomery County), who favors keeping HB-2, tweeted that he could “think of a lot of better ways to have spent my day.”

Looks like there will not be a vote in the House on HB2 repeal. Can think of a lot of better ways to have spent my day.
— Ken Goodman (@RepKenGoodman) December 21, 2016

Most of the dissatisfaction expressed online, however, was from state organizations and North Carolina residents taking on the legislature for its failure to repeal the law.

Nearly 50k in taxpayer money wasted if #NCGA can't muster #HB2 repeal vote. Shameful. #ncpol
— Progress NC Action (@ProgressNow_NC) December 21, 2016

The reason why North Carolinians do NOT trust this #NCGA, because they do not keep their word. This session was to fully repeal #HB2
— NC NAACP (@ncnaacp) December 21, 2016

#HB2 has caused harm to #trans people across the state & cost NC hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue. #RepealHB2 #NCGA
— ACLU-North Carolina (@ACLU_NC) December 21, 2016

Life as a Democrat in NC these days means getting your hopes up repeatedly only to have them quickly dashed. #hb2 #ncpol #ncga
— Amy Ford (@amyeileen80) December 21, 2016