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LGBT Group Critical Of Governor's HB2 Repeal Plan

Credit: AxelBoldt via Wikimedia Commons

A gay rights group is criticizing Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's new proposal to repeal House Bill 2, which limits LGBT protections.

Equality North Carolina Executive Director Chris Sgro told reporters Tuesday he doesn't support Cooper's HB2 repeal offer to GOP lawmakers. Sgro says parts of the legislation are a distraction to throwing out the law.

The governor's proposal includes increasing penalties for crimes committed in public restrooms. It also would force local governments to give state legislators 30 days of notice before considering ordinances covering sexual orientation and gender identity.

Sgro says Charlotte city leaders took over a year to weigh an anti-discrimination ordinance before they approved it. He also believes new penalties aren't needed because LGBT people are not a public safety risk.

Equality North Carolina was one of Cooper's strongest supporters in last year's race for governor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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