Bathroom Battle Turns Ugly as NC, Feds File Dueling Lawsuits
A potentially epic clash over transgender rights is taking shape this week after the U.S. Justice Department and North Carolina filed dueling lawsuits over the Tar Heel State's bathroom law.
"Our nation is dealing with a very new, complex and emotional issue: how to balance the expectations of privacy and equality in one of the most private areas of our lives," North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said in a statement Monday.
The law, known as HB2, requires transgender people to use the public restroom that matches the sex on their birth certificate.
The Department of Justice says it violates the federal civil rights of transgender people.
"We are seeking a court order declaring HB2's restroom restriction impermissibly discriminatory," U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said.
Defenders of the law argue that it is needed to protect people, including children, from potentially being molested in bathrooms by - for instance, men who could simply say they're women to get into women's restrooms.
"This bill is simply about protecting the safety, the privacy and the welfare of women and children and citizens in North Carolina," John Rustin, president at North Carolina Family Policy Council, said
North Carolina's governor is asking for legal and legislative clarity on the issue.
"We believe a court, rather than a federal agency should tell our state, our nation and employers throughout the nation what the law requires," McCrory said.
Meanwhile, there's a massive amount of money at stake. One study found that North Carolina could lose up to $4.7 billion annually in federal education funding.
"This is not going to slow down. This is not going to go away," warned Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign.
Businesses and entertainers such as Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam have boycotted North Carolina in protest of the law.
But twin brothers and celebrity entrepreneurs David and Jason Benham are making it clear they support the ordinance.
"Bruce Springsteen can write a song about being born in the USA, but we're here to tell you that the USA is watching North Carolina and we don't need Bruce to tell us how to operate our country," Jason Benham said.
Several other states in recent months have proposed similar laws limiting protections for gay, bisexual and transgender people. And the legal battle could culminate in a landmark Supreme Court decision.
Gov. McCrory accused the Obama administration of rewriting federal civil rights laws to protect transgender people's access to bathrooms, lockers room and showers across the country.
"They are now telling every government agency and every company that employs more than 15 people that men should be allowed to use a women's locker room, restroom or shower facility," he charged.
McCrory said because of that, this fight is now a national issue.
