One of the two items NC House members considered during this week’s special session may provide some insight about how they felt about a House Bill 2 repeal.

Members of the NC House mostly spent their time during a special session to repeal House Bill 2 in closed-to-the-public caucus meetings. State senators got a chance to vote on House Bill 2 repeal. House members didn’t. In the House, members only voted on the rules to start the session and a repeal.

For the rules vote, most House members — 97 of the 107 voting — voted “aye” but 10 others opposed approving the rules for the session. Some of those voting against the rules of the session said meeting to consider House Bill 2 in a special session wasn’t necessary. Special sessions are for urgent matters and a House Bill 2 repeal could be considered during the regularly scheduled 2017 session, said Rep. Jason Collins, a Republican from Rocky Mount.

Rowan County’s Rep. Carl Ford, a Republican from China Grove, joined Collins in voting against the rules, but didn’t speak on the floor about his stance. After the special session ended, Ford told the Salisbury Post he wouldn’t have voted to repeal House Bill 2.

Rep. Harry Warren, a Republican from Salisbury, voted for the rules of the session and later declined to comment about whether he would have voted to repeal House Bill 2.

In the Senate, there was no similar controversy over adopting the special session rules.

Ada Fisher says NAACP trying to hurt NC’s economy

Following a press conference on Thursday, Salisbury’s Dr. Ada Fisher fired back against a call by NC NAACP President William Barber to for his organization to back an economic boycott of the state because of House Bill 2.

Fisher, a Republican national committeewoman and lifetime member of the NAACP, said she’s tired of efforts by the NAACP to join mandates that aren’t the original purpose of the organization.

“One day after Democrat Governor-Elect Roy Cooper, who is not officially in that office, ordered legislative democrats to vote against a full repeal of HB2, the NAACP is seeking to inflict economic damage on ten million North Carolina citizens, including over two million African Americans,” Fisher said in a statement distributed by the North Carolina Republican Party.

For his part, Barber said a boycott has already begun, and the national NAACP had already decided to overlook the state for its convention. He said a similar boycott occurred in reference to a Confederate flag at the South Carolina State Capitol.

Fisher said Cooper has claimed he wants to bring back events and jobs to North Carolina. If that’s true, Fisher said Cooper would condemn the boycott by the NAACP.

“As a Life Member of the NAACP, I am tired of efforts by the State NAACP to enjoin people in mandates which were not the purpose of my organization,” she said. “This punishes hard-working North Carolina citizens of color and can hardly be considered ‘advancement.'”

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.