RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory says the state's main business lobby helped write a state law limiting protections for LGBT people that also included unrelated, employer-friendly restrictions on the minimum wage and workplace discrimination lawsuits.
McCrory's assertion contradicts the head of the state's Chamber of Commerce and his aides, who have denied a role in shaping the legislation called House Bill 2.
The Republican governor, the chamber president and GOP legislative leaders did not respond to messages Thursday seeking to clarify the conflicting accounts. McCrory said the chamber helped write HB2 during an event Wednesday focused on startup companies.
Business critics of the law have said they suspected the chamber agreed to stay quiet about the LGBT focus because the legislation also included provisions the business lobby liked.