The Department of Justice released a letter against North Carolina’s governor on Wednesday.
The letter from the DoJ warns the state officials that their recent law limiting LGBT people to access bathrooms violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act. What’s more, if the governor does not change these measures, the state will lose millions of dollars in federal funding.
This North Carolina’s law is causing controversy. People are protesting and marching to show they are against the law throughout the state. Protesters are calling the law a Hate Bill 2, and they’re focused on make lawmakers repeal it.
The letter from the DoJ
The letter by the Justice Department was not immediately released, but it was first reported by the Charlotte Observer.
The head of the department’s civil right division says the law is discriminatory for transgender people, both employees and customers. It also violates federal law under Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination on gender basis. This allegations are all based on the U.S. Civil Rights Act. The department is asking Republican Governor Pat McCrory to fix this problem by repealing the law.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta says the Title VII could be interpreted as if it includes gender identity of transgender people.
McCrory has a deadline to issue a response about remedying the violations by May 9. When she will also confirm that North Carolina will no longer implement the law.
North Carolina’s current Bathroom Law
In March, North Carolina introduced a law requiring transgender and gay people to use bathrooms that correspond to the gender on their birth certificate. Instead of using the bathroom they associate their gender with. It applied to buildings, bars, schools and multiple businesses across North Carolina.
The state became a center of debate over equality, privacy and religious freedom, due to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year to legalize same-sex marriage.
Source: The New York Times