The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, commonly known as House Bill 2 or HB2, was a North Carolina statute passed in March 2016 and signed into law by Governor Pat McCrory.

[22] All Senate and House Republicans voted in favor of the bill, with the exceptions of Charles Jeter, Chuck McGrady, Gary Pendleton, Bob Rucho, and Dan Soucek, who were excused absent.

[48] During an appearance by McCrory on Meet the Press on April 17, 2016, host Chuck Todd said that, by his conservative estimate, North Carolina had lost at least US$39.7 million in revenue as a result of House Bill 2.

[53] As of December 2, 2016, the states of California,[54] Connecticut,[55] Minnesota,[56][57] New York,[58] Vermont,[59] and Washington;[60] the District of Columbia;[61][62] the counties of Cuyahoga (Ohio),[63] Dane (Wisconsin),[64] Franklin (Ohio),[65] Los Angeles (California),[66] Montgomery (Maryland),[67] Multnomah (Oregon),[68] and Summit (Ohio);[69] and the cities of Atlanta,[70] Baltimore,[71] Berkeley,[72] Boston,[73] Chicago,[74] Cincinnati,[75] Columbus,[76] Dayton,[77] Honolulu,[78] Long Beach,[79] Los Angeles,[80] Madison,[64] Miami Beach,[81] New York City,[82][83] Oakland,[84] Philadelphia,[85] Portland (Maine),[86] Portland (Oregon),[87] Providence,[88] Royal Oak,[89] Salt Lake City,[90] San Francisco,[91] San Jose,[92] Santa Fe,[93] Seattle,[94][95] Shoreline (Washington),[96] Tampa,[85] West Palm Beach,[97] and Wilton Manors,[98] have issued travel bans in response to House Bill 2, barring government employees from non-essential travel to North Carolina.

[112][113] On April 25, 2016, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation announced that they had cancelled plans to host a conference at The Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, at a loss of US$1.5 million to the state's economy.

(In 2021 MLB moved baseball's All-Star Game from Cobb County, Georgia, in the greater Atlanta area to Denver, Colorado, in response to restrictive new voting laws.)

[141][142] The Atlantic Coast Conference stated it was "committed to its mission of equality and diversity" and "in conjunction with our schools, we will continue to monitor all current events to ensure an inclusive and nondiscriminatory environment for all.

"[145] Several musicians and entertainers have canceled shows in North Carolina in response to the law or are boycotting the state until it is repealed, including Ani DiFranco,[146] former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr,[147] Boston,[148] Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas,[149][150] Itzhak Perlman,[151] and Maroon 5.

[155] Pearl Jam[156] lead singer Eddie Vedder explained their decision to cancel concerts in NC, saying:[157][158] We thought we could take the money and give it to them and still play the show.

Cyndi Lauper turned her concert in Raleigh into an event "to build public support to repeal HB2," and committed to donating profits from the show to Equality North Carolina.

[170] Noah Bendix-Balgley, the classical violinist and First Concertmaster with the Berliner Philharmoniker, spoke against House Bill 2 while performing at a concert with the North Carolina Symphony at UNC Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill.

[181][182][183] The groups argue that the law violates the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the United States Constitution, specifically in that it "discriminates on the basis of sex and sexual orientation and is an invasion of privacy for transgender people.

[187][188] President pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate Phil Berger reacted negatively to the Fourth Circuit decision: People need to wake up: Roy Cooper, Barack Obama and two unelected federal judges are on the verge of completing their radical social reengineering of our society by forcing middle school-aged girls to share school locker rooms with boys.

[214] Although McCrory promoted the executive order as a compromise in response to nationwide backlash, House Bill 2 remained largely intact,[217][218][219][220] and companies that spoke out against the law reaffirmed their opposition.

[222] The bill was filed by Darren Jackson, Graig Meyer, Susi Hamilton, and Grier Martin and co-sponsored by Ed Hanes, Rosa Gill, Yvonne Holley, and Chris Sgro.

On July 23, 2019, federal judge Thomas D. Schroeder approved the 2017 settlement, clarifying that transgender people have the right to use restrooms in state-owned buildings that match their gender identities.

[251] A narrow provision remains on the books, which gives the North Carolina General Assembly the sole authority to pass any future regulations related to government-owned bathrooms.

[284] The group Appalachian State Student Power demanded that the University Chancellor Sheri Everts and UNC System President Margaret Spellings to publicly denounce the law.

Chapel Hill,[300] Marion,[301] Nags Head,[302] Duck,[303] Durham,[304][305] Winston-Salem,[306] Wilmington,[307] and the state capital of Raleigh[308] passed resolutions calling for the law to be repealed.

Carrboro passed a resolution that the town would partner with other local jurisdictions and advocacy groups to take legal action against House Bill 2, calling it "discriminatory and arguably unconstitutional.

[352] Four bishops of the Episcopal Church; Anne Hodges-Copple, G. Porter Taylor, Robert Skirving and Peter James Lee[353] said it discriminated against the LGBT community, workers, and the poor.

"[358] On April 25, 2016,[359] the incumbent United Methodist bishops in North Carolina, Hope Morgan Ward and Larry M. Goodpaster, and the retired bishops Charlene P. Kammerer, William Henry Willimon, C. P. Minnick, Jr., Thomas Stockton, Lawrence McCleskey, and Ray Chamberlain, called for the repeal of House Bill 2,[360] saying:[361] We observe the hurried passage of House Bill 2 (HB2) and its resultant harm to North Carolina – to individuals, to our economy, to our engagements with other states and nations, and to our future.

"[363][364] The North Carolina Council of Churches stated that House Bill 2 is "making discrimination easier in NC" and "puts us on the wrong side of the prophets who preached justice and mercy, calling on us to be better than our fears and to transcend our biases."

[368] The letter stated, As leaders of a faith community which has repeatedly suffered from state-sponsored discrimination and citizen-based prejudice, we will not stand idly by as our North Carolina legislature weakens the legal protections of our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender brothers and sisters..

In that spirit, we declare that our state should, under no circumstance, desecrate the holiness and dignity of any citizen.The Jewish Federation of Durham-Chapel Hill and Carolina Jews for Justice spoke out against the legislation.

"[360][369] The Southeast Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute said they were saddened that House Bill 2 "places lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender North Carolinians at risk of physical, emotional, and legal damage.

"[383] On April 21, 2016, Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a travel advisory directed at their LGBT citizens visiting the United States, specifically North Carolina and Mississippi.

[429][430] On July 6, 2016, at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, Republican presidential candidate front-runner Donald Trump was asked by The News and Observer if he stood by his previous rejection of House Bill 2.

The crowd was encouraged to visit legislators' offices in show of support and to boycott Target, which had recently announced that employees and customers could use the restroom and fitting room that correspond to their gender identity.

[436] The organizations held a series of prayer vigils in Greensboro, Raleigh, Charlotte, Havelock, Greenville, New Bern, Fayetteville, Marshville and Jacksonville to show public support for HB2.