New North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper delivered his inaugural address Saturday and made his commitment to repealing anti-LGBT laws in his state perfectly clear.
"When a law attempts to make any North Carolinian less in the eyes of their fellow citizens, I will fight it," he said. "I will stand up for you if the legislature cannot or will not."
He chastised the legislature for House Bill 2, the anti-trans "bathroom bill" that cost the state millions after a series of entertainment and business boycotts. Cooper and others had hoped the legislature would repeal the bill during a special session late in 2016, but representative failed to do so.
"There are enough bipartisan votes in the legislature right now to fully repeal House Bill 2 with no string attached," Cooper said. "This is not complicated. In fact, it's very simple: Let. Them. Vote."
Cooper's message comes as other conservative, mainly Southern states consider similar bathroom-bill legislation as the new session opens.
Watch the address below.
