Earlier this week, gay and transgender rights support groups, ACLU of North Carolina and Equality North Carolina, filed a lawsuit challenging a newly passed law that requires transgendered individuals to use public restrooms that correspond to the gender that is listed on their birth certificate. Additional plaintiffs of the suit include two transgendered individuals and a lesbian law professor at North Carolina Central University.
The filing claims that the statute violates equal protection and due-process guarantees of the U.S. Constitution, stating the law to be discriminatory and singling out LGBT people for “disfavored treatment.” The complaint also states “H.B. 2 was enacted for the purpose of disadvantaging LGBT people and is based on animus against LGBT people.”
North Carolina is the first state to enact such legislation restricting access to sex-segregated facilities on the basis of their gender assigned at birth. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there are currently another 13 states that are considering similar bills.
Several major corporations, professional and college level sports organizations, and the White House have all expressed their opposition to the legislation, with some choosing to boycott the state until the law is repealed. Some opponents of the law are also warning that the state may be at risk of losing federal education funding.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs have stated that they hope to have the law overturned by the General Assembly, though they are not being overly optimistic.
They will return later this month for the beginning of the legislative session.
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