DOJ Drops Lawsuit Against North Carolina Over 'Bathroom Bill'

By Felix N. Codilla III, Christian Post Contributor Monday, April 17, 2017

The Department of Justice dropped a federal lawsuit accusing North Carolina of discrimination after the state decided to repeal House Bill 2, more commonly known as the bathroom bill. HB 2 was deemed discriminatory by members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community who wanted the government to give in to all their demands.

The most contentious part of HB 2 is limiting people's access to bathrooms, locker rooms, shower rooms and changing facilities based on the gender on their birth certificate, not the gender they identify with. This means men can only have access to facilities intended for males while women can only use facilities for females.

LGBT advocates questioned the law in court. DOJ joined them when it filed a lawsuit during the Obama administration last year. Such public pressure forced state legislators to repeal HB 2 on March 30, and replace it with a new Bill called HB 142, which eliminates rules on who can use which restroom.

The move apparently pleased DOJ, prompting it to withdraw its lawsuit. But the LGBT community is not happy with the provisions of the new bill. For one, it leaves the regulation of bathroom access solely in the control of the legislature and prevents local governments from passing their own anti-discrimination laws until December 2020.

But House Speaker Timothy Keith Moore said the prohibition against city discrimination ordinances ensures local governments don't go "above and beyond" what the state is willing to mandate. It is also the same federal guidelines observed by 30 other states.

"We've got until 2020 to work this out," he said about tweaking the law.

The LGBT community felt abandoned by DOJ.

"The Trump administration may want to use the fake repeal of HB 2 as an excuse to further turn their backs on the transgender community, but the rest of us aren't going to give up that easily," said James Esseks, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBT Project.