NC gov defends bathroom law: I’m not an HR director

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) defended the “bathroom bill” he signed into law last month, saying cities and states shouldn’t reach into the private sector and act as human resources directors.

The controversial law restricts cities from passing nondiscrimination laws more broadly and requires people to use bathrooms that correspond to their biological sex. 

{mosads}The law was a response to Charlotte passing an ordinance allowing transgender people to use the public restrooms of their identifying gender.

“That’s government overreach. It’s not government business to tell the private sector what their bathroom, locker room or shower practices should be,” McCrory said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I’m not the private sector’s HR director.”

McCrory later signed an executive order he said would strengthen workplace protections for state employees to cover claims related to sexual orientation and gender identity, but he stopped short of opposing limits on which bathrooms transgender people could use.

“This is a national debate that has literally come on in the last three months,” McCrory said.

The state faced backlash after the governor signed the law, with entertainers such as Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr canceling shows in the state and businesses threatening to move elsewhere.

NBC’s Chuck Todd estimates North Carolina has lost $40 million due to the law.