Cooper proposes needing big majorities for local LGBT laws

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is floating a new compromise idea on repealing a law that limits protections for LGBT people.

Cooper said Sunday he'd support requiring large majority votes from city or town councils before they could adopt non-discrimination ordinances now banned by the law known as House Bill 2.

Cooper and gay-rights groups have criticized a proposal contained in new bipartisan legislation to change HB2 that would make it easy to condition such ordinances on local referendum votes.

Republican legislators last year approved HB2 in response to a Charlotte ordinance that would have allowed transgender people to use restrooms aligned with their gender identity. The state law provoked a backlash that's included sporting events shunning North Carolina.

The NCAA is weighing where to host events through 2022.

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