North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has signed an executive order which expands protections for state employees covering sexual orientation and gender identity.

McCrory released a statement saying the order is to protect the privacy and equality of all North Carolinians. Executive Order 93 clarifies existing state law and provides new protections for North Carolina residents.

Executive Order 93 does the following:

  • Maintains common sense gender-specific restroom and locker room facilities in government buildings and schools
  • Affirms the private sector's right to establish its own restroom and locker room policies
  • Affirms the private sector and local governments' right to establish non-discrimination employment policies for its own employees
  • Expands the state's employment policy for state employees to cover sexual orientation and gender identity
  • Seeks legislation to reinstate the right to sue in state court for discrimination

With this executive order, the state of North Carolina is now one of 24 states that have protections for sexual orientation and gender identity for its employees, the release state.

“After listening to people’s feedback for the past several weeks on this issue, I have come to the conclusion that there is a great deal of misinformation, misinterpretation, confusion, a lot of passion and frankly, selective outrage and hypocrisy, especially against the great state of North Carolina,” said McCrory. “Based upon this feedback, I am taking action to affirm and improve the state’s commitment to privacy and equality.”