No Compromise

It was a good deal and the governor called the Republicans bluff that it is all about safety but the Republicans didn’t want to take the deal.

N. Carolina governor offers 'compromise' repealing LGBT law
AP
February 14, 2017

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper proposed Tuesday what he called a compromise to repeal the state's so-called bathroom bill, saying a new measure is designed to allay fears by some over public bathroom safety.

But a powerful leader in the Republican-controlled General Assembly dismissed it, signaling that any agreement between the governor and GOP lawmakers is still distant. Even a close Cooper ally in the gay rights movement said he didn't support the governor's idea, calling the proposal a distraction from a repeal of what's known as House Bill 2.
[…]
The proposal does away with House Bill 2 and increases penalties for crimes in public bathrooms, the governor said at a news conference with the top Democratic leaders in the House and Senate. It would also tell local governments seeking ordinances covering sexual orientation and gender identity to give legislators 30 days' notice before doing so.

So it is not really about safety, but more about marginalizing trans people.

The North Caroline Herald Sun in an editorial said,

An HB2 exit strategy

It’s becoming a depressingly familiar minuet in Raleigh.

Opponents of House Bill 2, the disastrous “bathroom bill” that has dinged the state’s economy and dented its image, try another route to persuade the General Assembly to repeal it.

The Republican leadership slaps it down with not so much as a hint of discussion, and the chances of our forestalling years as a desert for major athletic competitions fade yet closer to zero.

Gov. Roy Cooper, who thought he had worked a deal for the legislature to repeal the bill in the closing days of the last session, took another shot at the impasse Tuesday. He proposed what he called a “common-sense compromise” that would repeal the law while imposing stricter penalties for bathroom crimes. It also would require cities to notify the legislature 30 days in advance before adopting local non-discrimination ordinances.
[…]
He [Senate Republican leader Phil Berger] repeated the unsubstantiated claim by HB2 proponents that it would enable men to infiltrate women’s restrooms and locker rooms. “Heterosexual men will be able to access women’s showers and bathrooms by simply posing as a transgender individual,” he argued.

The Republicans had a chance to save face but they stood by their ideology to marginalize the LGBT community.