RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - Resign your office and run for governor full time. That was the message from Senate Leader Phil Berger to Attorney General Roy Cooper Tuesday after Cooper announced he and his office will not defend the state in a lawsuit filed over the passage of House Bill 2.

Cooper, the sitting Attorney General and Democratic nominee for governor, made his announcement at a news conference Tuesday.

Critics of the law say it is discriminatory. The law set aside Charlotte's recently passed ordinance that would have allowed men to use women's restrooms and locker rooms, and vice versa. The General Assembly passed HB 2 with bipartisan support. Gov. Pat McCrory signed it into law, calling it common sense protection of basic privacy.

“Roy Cooper’s refusal to defend the law makes clear he wants the ACLU to win by default in federal court what they can’t win at the ballot box and allow men to walk into locker rooms at YMCAs across our country and undress in front of young girls,” said Berger.

“His zeal for pandering for the extreme left’s money and agenda in his race for governor is making it impossible for him to fulfill his duties as attorney general – and he should resign immediately.”