North Carolina Rep. Billy Richardson (D) admitted his vote for HB 2,a bill that blocks cities and counties from passing anti-discrimination policies, was "wrong."
"Upon prayer and reflection, I have come to realize that I need to take action now," Richardson wrote in The Fayetteville Observer.
Richardson called the vote "hasty," and said he was "haunted" by the "rushed action" to pass the legislation in a special session.
"My parents raised me to avoid any rush to judgment and to consider the consequences of my decisions," Richardson wrote. "They stressed to me that I will make mistakes but, when made, never, never compound a mistake by sitting silent and failing to own up to the error."
"You can't fix a wrong until you acknowledge a mistake," he added. "I was wrong and I will stand with all North Carolinians who dream of fulfilling the words of the official toast for our Old North State, 'where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great.'"
HB 2 passed 83-25 in the House of Representatives, and 32-0 in the state Senate. (Senate Democrats walked out of the chamber before the vote.) North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) has defended the bill since signing it into law in March, calling criticism over the measure "political theater."
Read Richardson's full op-ed in The Fayetteville Observer.
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