To the Editor:

North Carolinians know about the immediate economic fallout from HB2 — the so-called bathroom bill — as performers, businesses and governments have ruled out coming here. As a small business owner, I want to tell you how much worse the damage really is ... for all of us.

Right up until the passage of HB2 my arts-related business had been growing steadily; first quarter sales of my ceramics were up over 40 percent from last year. I planned to hire a second employee and had begun building a new studio. That came to a screeching halt in late March with the bill’s passage.

Sales for the next three months fell by 30 percent. My own state government did what a major recession, two presidential election cycles and road construction outside my shop failed to do: make me lose money. Most of my fellow small business owners report similar drop-offs.

If you don’t own a tourist- or arts-related business you may think this situation doesn’t touch you, but it does. Not only are my tax payments to North Carolina falling sharply, but my own spending is way down. I won’t be adding an employee and may curtail the second studio. I must put off buying new truck tires, will postpone dental work and have to stop dining out as much. Those businesses get hurt too. The ripple effects are catastrophic.

Gov. Pat McCrory and other state lawmakers have had many opportunities to substantially change or eliminate HB2 and they repeatedly declined. Now it’s time to put North Carolina back in business by changing our state leadership.

Michael Hofman

Hofman Studios

Asheville