House Bill 2, also known as the “Bathroom Bill,” was passed on March 23, 2016. This bill prohibits people from using a restroom that is not labeled with the gender on their birth certificate. Also, it prevents local governments from creating anti-discrimination policies for the estimated 336,000 people that make up the LGBT community. This means that there is no law protecting them from being fired because of their sexual orientation, yet there is one for race. HB2 hurt the LGBT community and put yet another restriction on them. The law was a new type of discrimination that no one could have predicted. HB2 is believed to have cost North Carolina millions of dollars in business investments and thousands of jobs.

  Many efforts were taken to get the new law repealed. Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Equality North Carolina unsuccessfully tried to sue against the law. Working at a higher power, House Democrats Darren Jackson, Grier Martin, Graig Meyer, and Susi Hamilton filed for a repeal in April. Many performers, such as Demi Lovato, Bruce Springsteen, and Nick Jonas, decided to cancel their concerts in North Carolina because of the law. They made it public that by cancelling their concerts, it shows that they do not support the bill in any way. Lionsgate moved the shooting of its new show from North Carolina to Canada for the same reason. This caused the state to lose millions of dollars as did cancellations from other major corporations. In April, just a month after HB2 was passed, hundreds of people gathered at a sit-in in the Legislative Building. The protest resulted in fifty-four people being arrested just for protesting against the bill. Earlier in that same day, 1,000 HB2 supporters stood outside of Halifax Mall to tell lawmakers to stay strong against the opposition of the bill.

  The continuous efforts of protests and boycotts against the bill have proven effective. With an estimated 3.1 million dollars lost in cancelled companies and performances, HB2 seems to be causing more damage than good. Charlotte decided to repeal its nondiscrimination ordinance in hopes that the Governor of North Carolina would repeal HB2. This was true only if House Bill 2 was repealed by December 31. Governor Pat McCrory called lawmakers to a meeting to discuss the repeal of the bill. Upon hearing this, junior Taryn Gillaspy said, “I would be happy for the LGBT community and that they wouldn’t have to deal with this kind of discrimination anymore.” While McCrory was the one to sign the bill, Roy Cooper, the governor-elect of North Carolina, thought that the bill was not beneficial in the first place. Cooper believes that a full repeal of HB2 will bring jobs and entertainment events back to North Carolina, as well as rights for the LGBT community. Spanish teacher and adviser of the GSA club, Ms. Van Wagnen said, “Any human interested in equality has a stake in whether it happens or not, and it will be interesting to see what changes happen, if any, since Cooper is now our governor-elect.” On Wednesday, December 22, lawmakers met to discuss the possible repeal of HB2. With a vote of 16-32 against, it was declined. Charlotte will wait until December 31 for the repeal of House Bill 2 or they will not cancel their ordinance that protects the discrimination of the LGBT community. Even after what seemed like a good deal, as of now, HB2 will remain a law.