On Monday, two transgender people and a lesbian professor filed a lawsuit over the new North Carolina law that requires citizens to use bathrooms consistent with their biological gender. The plaintiffs argued that the measure threatens their personal safety and violates the constitution.
The legal challenge from Lambda Legal, Equality NC, and ACLU of North Carolina added more adverse reaction over a law that within days of its implementation has drawn strong opposition from major college sports, corporations, and organizations. According to the News Observer, the challengers contend that HB2 permits discrimination against the LGBT community across the state, singling them out for disfavored treatment. They argued that the law violates the US constitution and makes North Carolina the first ever state to require university students and public schools to use only those bathrooms that match the gender on their birth certificates.
Among those being sued are state Attorney General Roy Cooper, the UNC system Board of Governors, Louis Bissette, Chairman of the UNC board, and Governor Pat McCrory. The Guardian reported that Governor Pat McCrory signed into law a bill that bars local governments from enacting laws with anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT individuals.
Governor McCrory's spokesman issued a statement on Monday, saying the governor "respects" the right of any legal challenge but criticizes national and state media for what's described as continued distortion of the facts. Chase Strangio, an attorney with the national ACLU's LGBT Program, said the new law on bathroom access has no clear enforcement mechanism, reports Reuters.
In response to the bill, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and mayors of Seattle and San Francisco, barred non-essential, publicly funded government travel to the state, claiming that the law is indeed discriminatory. Meanwhile, Republicans like House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger believe the law would be upheld in court.
