Pat McCrory is like the schoolboy who knows it’s wrong for the bullies to pick on the weak kid. But instead of standing up, he goes along with the bullies.

It is an absolute failure of moral leadership.

Republicans can spin it how they will, but this is about picking on politically vulnerable people to get votes. It’s bullying. And it’s fitting for a party that’s about to nominate a loud-mouthed bully for President.

You suspect McCrory knows better. After Charlotte passed the ordinance, he said the legislature should leave it alone. Then he declined to call a special session. But he stood aside when Phil Berger and Dan Forest called the session. He remained silent all day during the session. He signed the bill. Stealthily. At night.

Now, many in my generation aren’t clear on this issue. They aren’t clear about the definitions of transgender, transsexual and queer.

But it’s clear we’re talking about people, many of them adolescents, who are struggling with their sexual identity. And there is no more difficult issue for teenagers (and many adults) than sex. Their struggles can lead to drugs, depression and suicide.

The best test here is: What would Jesus do? Would he make these people political piñatas? Or would he show them kindness, compassion and sensitivity?

McCrory and the Republican legislators chose the path of cruelty.

This isn’t about men invading women’s bathrooms. That can happen anyway, and it’s a crime now. This is about politics.

Roy Cooper, after initially having hesitated on the issue, stood strong: “North Carolina is better than this. Discrimination is wrong, period. That North Carolina is making discrimination part of the law is shameful. It will not only cause real harm to families, but to our economy as well.”

Senate Democrats didn’t just stand up, they walked out. It was an eloquent statement.

Most House Democrats stood up, fought back and said no. A few went along, but in time they’ll have to answer to their own consciences.

At times like this, I recall the finest hour of my old boss, Governor Jim Hunt. It was 1984, and he was running for the Senate against Jesse Helms. Hunt was a rising star in politics. If he unseated Helms, he might even become President.

Helms was fighting against a national holiday for Martin Luther King. He filibustered against the bill on the floor of the Senate.

Some of Governor Hunt’s conservative supporters urged him to take a pass. But Hunt supported the holiday. When Helms attacked him on it in a debate, Hunt shot back:

“My gracious, how far back do you want to take us? This is a state that’s making progress, Jesse. You’re just out of touch with it. And the reason we’re growing and making progress the way we are is because people are working together. They care about each other, and they’re not following the kind of negative, divisive leadership that you’ve been giving.”

Maybe Hunt was wrong about the politics of it, for he lost the election. But he passed the moral test – and won the judgment of history. He did the right thing, even though it hurt him politically.

McCrory failed that test. Cooper passed it.

And this battle is not over.