North Carolina Legislative Watch Fighting for the rights of LGBTQ North Carolinians has never been more crucial than at this time. Recently, three municipalities have adopted non-discrimination ordinances after the sundowning occurred on HB2/HB142 that restricted such actions. HB2/HB142 became an international embarrassment to the state’s reputation. (Photo Credit: dusica69 via Adobe Stock) During the week of Jan. 10, three towns in Orange County passed LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination ordinances, the first since a state ban on such local protections expired last month. The move by the towns of Hillsborough, Carrboro and Chapel Hill signals the willingness of progressive communities to wade back into a civil rights fight that exploded in 2016 with the North Carolina General Assembly’s passage of House Bill 2. That controversial state law excluded lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from statewide nondiscrimination protections and ignited a political fight in the state that drew international headlines.