RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The first North Carolina municipalities are acting to expand LGBT rights again a month since the expiration of a moratorium on nondiscrimination ordinances agreed to years ago as a compromise to do away with the state's "bathroom bill."
The governing board of Hillsborough, a town of 7,000 about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Raleigh, voted unanimously this week to approve new protections for people on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and other differences.
Those rules make it unlawful — punishable by a misdemeanor and $500 fines — for businesses of other entities within the town limits to discriminate on these and other characteristics in employment and in offering goods and services to the public, including lodging and dining. Hillsborough's ordinance marks the first by a North Carolina town or city since the 3 1/2-year ban expired Dec. 1.
