Republican Gov. Pat McCrory has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department to save North Carolina's new and controversial bathroom law, Michael Gordon reports for The Charlotte Observer. McCrory is asking a federal court to clarify whether the law discriminates against transgender people as the Justice Department contends. McCrory wants the court "to overturn a federal prosecutor’s assertion last week that HB2 violates Title IX of the Civil Rights Act as well as the Violence Against Women Act."
"The law, which was passed by the General Assembly after the city of Charlotte extended LGBT protections, including a provision that allowed transgendered people the right to use the bathroom with which they identified," Gordon writes. "The resulting firestorm over HB2 has cost the state hundreds of new jobs, concerts and other events and made North Carolina a target of international criticism. The law is already the target of a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups. HB2’s provision that limits transgender bathroom usage to the sex of an individual’s birth risks the loss of billions in federal dollars flowing into the state, the groups said last week in a joint statement. Title IX bans discrimination at schools, universities and any education program receiving federal money. North Carolina receives billions in federal education dollars every year."
McCrory, who’s in a tough re-election fight, "said HB2 is a common-sense law that makes bathrooms safer for women and children," Gordon writes. McCrory said in a statement: "The Obama administration is bypassing Congress by attempting to rewrite the law and set restroom policies for public and private employers across the country, not just North Carolina. This is now a national issue that applies to every state and it needs to be resolved at the federal level. They are now telling every government agency and every company that employs more than 15 people that men should be allowed to use a women’s locker room, restroom or shower facility.”
"The law, which was passed by the General Assembly after the city of Charlotte extended LGBT protections, including a provision that allowed transgendered people the right to use the bathroom with which they identified," Gordon writes. "The resulting firestorm over HB2 has cost the state hundreds of new jobs, concerts and other events and made North Carolina a target of international criticism. The law is already the target of a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups. HB2’s provision that limits transgender bathroom usage to the sex of an individual’s birth risks the loss of billions in federal dollars flowing into the state, the groups said last week in a joint statement. Title IX bans discrimination at schools, universities and any education program receiving federal money. North Carolina receives billions in federal education dollars every year."
McCrory, who’s in a tough re-election fight, "said HB2 is a common-sense law that makes bathrooms safer for women and children," Gordon writes. McCrory said in a statement: "The Obama administration is bypassing Congress by attempting to rewrite the law and set restroom policies for public and private employers across the country, not just North Carolina. This is now a national issue that applies to every state and it needs to be resolved at the federal level. They are now telling every government agency and every company that employs more than 15 people that men should be allowed to use a women’s locker room, restroom or shower facility.”
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