Federal Government Sues North Carolina Over ‘Bathroom Bill’
North Carolina’s bill that force people to use the bathrooms that match the gender they were given at birth, commonly referred to as the “Bathroom Bill,” has brought out its biggest opposition yet – the U.S. government.
The Justice Department has sued the state over the controversial bill and claim it “stigmatizes and singles out transgender employees, results in their isolation and exclusion, and perpetuates a sense that they are not worthy of equal treatment and respect,” according to Huffington Post.
“It was not so very long ago that states, including North Carolina, had other signs above restrooms, water fountains, and on public accommodations, keeping people out based on a distinction without a difference. We’ve moved beyond those dark days,” said U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Many feel that the bill’s passing in March was a clearly offensive attack on transgender rights. Lynch even went on to say that “they created state-sponsored discrimination against transgender individuals who simply seek to engage in the most private of functions in a place of safety and security, a right taken for granted by most of us.”
The press conference where the lawsuit was announced came on the same day that the state of North Carolina filed one of their own. The state feels the government is overreaching with their authority after threatening to withhold federal education funds due to violation of federal civil rights laws.
North Carolina governor Pat McCrory especially feels that the Obama administration is looking to overstep Congress and pass laws that would affect the entire country. He also claims that the bill doesn’t support any kind of discrimination.
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