HB2 opponents deliver nearly 10,000 new petition signatures to lawmakers
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Opponents of North Carolina's HB2 law delivered nearly 10,000 new petition signatures to lawmakers Wednesday calling for its full repeal.
The LGBT advocates say proposed tweaks to the law circulating in the General Assembly don't go far enough.
WATCH: "Air horn orchestra" with its 12th protest in front of the Governor's Mansion.
The legislation has remained intact since then, despite national protests, the arrests of dozens of demonstrators at North Carolina's Legislative Building, a federal lawsuit against the state, and strong words from officials, including U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, about the law as "state-sponsored discrimination."
Read all ABC11 stories about HB2 here
Hopes that North Carolina's GOP-led General Assembly would completely erase the law have withered, but some adjustments are possible before lawmakers end their annual session - if Republican leaders can get the changes through without opening the entire bill for debate.
"We're having discussions with a number of folks, but so far there's nothing that's been determined," House Speaker Tim Moore said. "I think that we may look at some tweaks to the law, it's certainly nothing that would make the Obama administration probably happy."
The Speaker of the House has said changes to HB2 are a work in progress - and they are vetting all ideas.
One item of note is that the "Wage and Hour Act" is missing from this new draft. That's the part that prevents local governments from setting their own pay.
Whether that part is dead forever, we don't know. ABC11 has not been able to get clarification on that.
HB2 was designed to block a Charlotte non-discrimination ordinance, part of which allowed transgender people to use bathrooms and locker rooms of the gender they identify with. The state law requires people to use the restroom according to their biological sex listed on their birth certificate in government buildings, schools, and universities.
The law also excludes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from anti-discrimination protections and blocks municipalities from adopting their own anti-discrimination and living wage rules.
HB2 EXPLAINED
GOP lawmakers have floated the outlines of a proposal, and some are discussing potential changes privately. Changing the bathroom portion of the law is not on the table. The discussion instead centers on the provision that prevents workers from suing for employment discrimination in state court. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who signed House Bill 2 into law, wants that provision removed.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE PROPOSED CHANGES
ABC11's Angelica Alvarez and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
