North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory Remains Defiant on State’s ‘Bathroom Law’ (Video)

Doubles down on defending the measure passed in March despite possible loss of state revenue

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory went on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to defy protests and criticisms of the state’s so-called bathroom law, widely seen as discriminatory against transgendered Americans.

“I do believe in our high schools, in our middle schools, in our universities, we should continue to have the tradition that we’ve been having in this country for years. And we have a women’s facility and a men’s facility. You know, it’s worked out pretty well. And I don’t think we need any further government interference,” the Republican governor told “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd.

McCrory has pushed back against the furor that’s swept other states, including Georgia and Mississippi, over laws barring transgender people from using public restrooms that don’t conform with the gender on their birth certificates.

McCrory tried to do damage control last week by signing an executive order expanding equal opportunity protection for LGBT employees of the Palmetto State.

Todd asked the governor why he didn’t call for a law to shield his state’s LGBT citizens from discrimination in the private sector, to align with the intent of his executive order.

“Because I’m not the private sector’s H.R. director,” McCrory said. “I am the H.R. director and the governor of all state employees. And I signed an executive order which protects all state employees, in the ninth-largest state in the United States of America.”

Todd wasn’t mollified. He asked McCrory how that logic differed from that used by politicians opposing civil rights legislation in the 1960’s.

McCrory said he knew of no businesses actively discriminating against LGBT people. “But at the same time, what we’ve got to do is deal with this extremely new social norm that has come to our nation at a very quick period of time,” he said.

Todd mentioned the economic fallout already happening in the state. He said that 160 companies have called for the law’s repeal. When asked if he had any regrets about signing HB2 into law in March, especially over potentially losing the state revenue, McCrory said that he “will always call out government overreach.”

“The city of Charlotte passed a bathroom ordinance mandate on every private sector employer in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the largest, 15th, 16th-largest cities in the United States of America,” the governor said. “And I think that’s government overreach. It’s not government’s business to tell the private sector what their bathroom, locker room, or shower practices should be,”

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