FACT CHECK: Berger, Moore have never offered to fully repeal HB2

RALEIGH — Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore released a patently false statement on Monday, claiming they have offered “for months” to fully repeal HB2 if the City of Charlotte repealed its nondiscrimination ordinance.

Berger and Moore were referring to a so-called “compromise” which fell through in September. Although the two Republican leaders initially claimed they were willing to “return state law to where it was pre-HB2,”Moore later admitted that Republican lawmakers had planned to repeal parts of the law, but “make sure we kept in the bathroom piece.”

The provision of HB2 banning transgender people from using public facilities matching their gender identity is the entire reason for the nationwide backlash against North Carolina by businesses such as PayPal and sporting events such as the NBA All-Star Game. Berger and Moore’s so-called “compromise” in September would have done nothing to bring these companies and events back to North Carolina.

Charlotte City Council backed out of the September “compromise” in part because lawmakers couldn’t be trusted to fully repeal HB2 once the Charlotte ordinance was repealed, and they were proven correct when Moore admitted that full repeal wasn’t actually on the table.

“This is exactly why Sen. Berger and Speaker Moore can’t be trusted when it comes to HB2,” said Gerrick Brenner, executive director of Progress NC Action. “The Republican House Speaker admitted in September that the first HB2 compromise was a fool’s errand that did not actually guarantee a full repeal of HB2. Now Republicans claim the compromises are identical, but only the new compromise would reinstate Charlotte’s nondiscrimination ordinance if Republicans fail to fully repeal HB2.