RALEIGH, NC (AP) — The Latest on a new law in North Carolina that critics have called discriminatory (all times local):
8 p.m.
Atlanta city leaders are asking the NBA to move the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte after North Carolina lawmakers passed legislation seen as limiting LGBT protections.
The City Council introduced a resolution Tuesday asking the NBA to move the game to Atlanta after North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a law critics called discriminatory against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
The North Carolina law prevents Charlotte and other local governments from approving LGBT protections at restaurants, hotels and stores.
Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority CEO Tom Murray said in a statement that officials are concerned about the legislation and continue hearing about potential event cancellations.
NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement that the league is hopeful Charlotte and North Carolina can work through their differences long before the game.
___
5:40 p.m.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory says Attorney General Roy Cooper used a flawed legal argument in deciding not to defend a new law that limits how local governments can pass rules designed to protect LGBT citizens.
McCrory released a video late Tuesday that also explained further his decision to sign the law, now being criticized by dozens of corporate CEOs and the subject of a federal lawsuit.
Cooper said earlier Tuesday he wouldn’t defend the law largely because it conflicts with anti-discrimination policies in his office and in another state department. The governor says the law didn’t change the attorney general’s internal policies and “is inventing conflict that simply doesn’t exist.” He urged Cooper to reconsider his decision.
McCrory says while the bill wasn’t perfect, it provided privacy protections in public restrooms and locker rooms that people expect.
___
4:10 p.m.
The chief executives running dozens of big technology, biotech and financial companies are urging North Carolina officials to repeal a new state law preventing local governments from expanding protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
The letter released Tuesday by gay rights advocates is signed by corporate chieftains including IBM CEO Virginia Rometty, Apple head Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.
The letter urges Gov. Pat McCrory and legislative leaders to repeal the law introduced and passed in a one-day special legislative session last week. The General Assembly meets again next month.
The law requires transgender people to use public bathrooms that match their birth certificates. The law also makes clear local measures can’t expand anti-discrimination protections for sexual orientation or gender identity.
___
1:30 p.m.
A statewide organization that worked to get Charlotte’s nondiscrimination ordinance overturned by the state legislature says hundreds of North Carolina businesses support the new state law but that some are afraid of retaliation if they make that support public.
In a press release Tuesday, the NC Values Coalition said bullying from the LGBT community has some business owners afraid for the well-being of their businesses and families if they speak out. The release did not offer any examples to back up that claim.
Spokeswoman Kami Mueller said that precedent has been set in other states for businesses owners to have reasonable fear if they speak in support of the state law.
The release did have the names of 17 businesses that were willing to be identified as supporting the new law.
___
11:45 a.m.
A top legislative Republican says North Carolina’s Democratic attorney general should resign if he won’t defend a far-reaching new state law that in part voids Charlotte’s anti-discrimination ordinance.
Senate Leader Phil Berger said Tuesday that Attorney General Roy Cooper appears to be pandering to left-wing backers as he runs for governor against incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. Berger says Cooper’s campaigning is making it impossible for him to fulfill his duties as attorney general.
Berger issued a statement after Cooper said he won’t defend in court the new state law that prevents local governments from adopting anti-discrimination measures for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Cooper says in response to Berger’s comments that he’s doing his job and will keep doing it.
___
11:15 a.m.
North Carolina’s Democratic attorney general is commending Georgia’s Republican governor for vetoing a piece of legislation that critics have called discriminatory.
Attorney General Roy Cooper said at a news conference Tuesday that Gov. Nathan Deal “stepped up” on Monday when he rejected a “religious freedom” bill. Cooper said Deal recognized the negative economic impact it would have Georgia if he signed the legislation.
Many corporations have spoken out against the bill in Georgia and the new law in North Carolina. The North Carolina bill prevents Charlotte and other local governments from approving protections for LGBT people.
The Georgia bill was modeled on the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. People claiming their religious freedoms are burdened could force state and local governments to prove a “compelling” interest in enforcing laws that conflict with their beliefs.
___
11:05 a.m.
North Carolina’s attorney general says he won’t defend in court a new state law preventing Charlotte and other local governments from approving protections for LGBT citizens at restaurants, hotels and stores.
Democrat Roy Cooper made the announcement Tuesday, a day after gay rights advocates sued the state to seek to overturn the law. The federal lawsuit lists Cooper among the defendants because of his official position, but he opposes the law and wants it repealed.
The Republican-led legislature and GOP Gov. Pat McCrory approved the law last week. They say Charlotte went too far with a local ordinance allowing transgender people to use the restroom of their preference. The law also addresses bathroom use in schools and state agencies.
Cooper is challenging McCrory for governor this fall.
(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
The post Atlanta looks to move NBA All-Star Game appeared first on WWAY TV3.