North Carolina files lawsuit against US government over transgender bathroom law
North Carolina has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for its attempt to stop the state from implementing the controversial transgender bathroom bill.
Last week, the department sent a letter to North Carolina saying it had until Monday, May 9 to amend its transgender bathroom bill, known as House Bill 2. The department said the bill violates civil rights. Refusal to comply could cost the state hundreds of millions in funding for state universities.
However, the state was not intimated by the letter and said that it will not comply with the deadline. On Monday, the state filed a lawsuit against the department's directive to block House Bill 2. North Carolina officials said the DOJ had a "radical reinterpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act," Fox News reported.
"I do not agree with their interpretation of federal law. That is why this morning I have asked a federal court to clarify what the law actually is," North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said in a statement. "This is not a North Carolina issue. It is now a national issue."
The lawsuit is meant to uphold the law, which McCrory described as a "common sense privacy policy." It says that the Justice Department's move is an attempt to "unilaterally rewrite long-established federal civil rights laws." The lawsuit further says the department is employing a "baseless and blatant overreach."
The North Carolina transgender bathroom bill requires transgenders to use public bathrooms based on the sex assigned to them at birth instead of their gender identity. State legislators said it was written primarily to protect women and girls from possible sexual assault.
With the threat of losing much needed school funding, the North Carolina public university system has joined in on the issue and declared that it will support the federal law regarding the transgender bathroom bill.
According to UNC System President Margaret Spellings, the university has long implemented policies that protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
