Due to North Carolinian’s “expectation of privacy,” the N.C. Legislature pushed back against Charlotte City Council’s ordinance which forced all businesses operating within the city to allow transgendered individuals to use the bathroom of their choosing. Since the controversial HB2 law went into effect, it has received outrage from LGBT activists and sympathizers nationwide.
Following the passage of HB2, the Obama administration gave N.C. a deadline; reverse or amend HB2 by Monday, May 9, or risk losing federal education funding, a potential 2 billion dollar threat. The move by the Obama administration’s Justice Department was seen by many as employing bully tactics.
NC thinks its people want to sue the US Justice Department over #LGBTQ bathroom law #BernieOrBust #NeverHillary https://t.co/B5nnVC7on0
— simon gentry ☕️ (@emulsiondown) May 9, 2016
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Lawmakers from N.C. responded by suing the Obama administration, refusing to be intimidated by the federal government’s threats.
According to The Washington Times, White House press secretary Josh Earnest called HB2 a “mean-spirited law” and, according to Politico, Attorney General Loretta Lynch is expected to announce the Justice Department will counter-sue N.C. over its bathroom law.
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The N.C. lawsuit named the Justice Department, Lynch and the head of Justice’s Civil Rights Division Vanita Gupta as defendants in the lawsuit and asked a federal judge in Raleigh to approve “declaratory and injunctive relief,” adding the federal government’s actions against NC is “is a baseless and blatant overreach.” Lynch is expected to announce the counter suit at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
The Justice Department contends North Carolina’s actions violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IV of the Education Amendments of 1972 which prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender. North Carolina governor Pat McCrory countered that argument in an interview with Fox News Sunday, stating the Justice Department is attempting to defend gender identity, not gender at birth. The governor explained the difficulty of complying with the federal government’s wishes. “We can definitely define the race of people. It’s very hard to define transgender or gender identity,” he said.
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