Statement From Rev. Dr. William Barber II, NC NAACP State Conference on Compromised HB2 Repeal, An Insult to Civil Rights

HB2 must be repealed in full. This bill is anti-worker, anti-access to the courts, and anti-LGBTQ. It is shameful for Tim Moore and Phil Berger to demand a discriminatory compromise on a bill that should have never been passed in the first place. Setting a moratorium on local governments ability to pass anti-discrimination ordinances and to regulate private employment practices is another sweeping act of hubris by the legislature and takes power from officials elected by the people to serve the rights of the people. This is a bait and switch. We fought against this tactic when this same legislature sought to strip power from the Governor--disregarding their constitutional obligations in an effort to silence the voice of the voters. We will continue to fight against retaliatory voter suppression, anti-worker legislation, and any backroom efforts to enshrine discrimination in our laws. Above all, any moratorium on civil rights is not a compromise, it is a contradiction with the principle of equal protection under the law and our moral values. We call on all those who stand for justice to vote no on compromise and pass a clean, full repeal of HB2.