The transgender debate, which has been under the radar for some time, was recently reenergized due to the heated controversy surrounding House Bill 2, North Carolina's so-called "bathroom bill." This bill, which was passed in the NC state legislature on March 23, requires all people, when in public facilities or universities, to use the bathroom which corresponds to their birth sex.
This new requirement, though, is only one point in an extensive bill limiting the rights of transgender people. Katie Zezima, in a May 14th Washington Post article, wrote, "the law not only reverses a Charlotte ordinance that had extended similar rights to gay and transgender people. HB2 also prevents cities and counties from establishing a minimum-wage standard for private employers and limits how people can sue for discrimination. And it contains a provision allowing the remaining parts of the law to stand if others are struck down in Court."
To sum, as the true motives of HB2 are beginning to surface, the North Carolina government has sought to deprive transgender people of certain civil rights which are guaranteed by law under the guise of a "bathroom bill."
Since the passing of HB2 in late March, nationwide criticism of the bill has begun to surface; this discontent has, in particular, come from the transgender community and a number of civil rights groups. Many of these activist groups, one of the most prominent being the NAACP, claim that the bill discriminates against transgender people and violates federal civil rights laws.
"This is not about bathrooms. It's about whether or not you can codify hate and discrimination into the laws of the state," Rev. William Barber II, the leader of the North Carolina NAACP, told the Washington Post. For some time, groups like the NAACP have sought to reveal the unjust nature of the bill. In fact, there has been a growing national dislike of HB2, which is, in part, thanks to the growing opposition of the bill by civil rights groups. Recent NC polls show that the majority of people in the state oppose the bill; one poll demonstrated that around 45 percent of North Carolinians opposed the bill, while only 36 percent support it. Similar national polls have been conducted, the majority of which have conveyed similar sentiments toward the controversial bill.
Additionally, there is clear evidence that the passing of HB2 may have simply been a political move made by NC Republicans, such as North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory. Some elected officials in NC have struggled to maintain support from the state's substantial evangelical population, the majority of whom reside in rural areas. This bill provides a favorable image for these Republican politicians, many of whom are expected to experience contentious races in November. The law, while alienating many of the state's more liberal voters, appeals greatly to the state's conservative, evangelical base. Likewise, the claims of state officials as to the necessity of the bill strongly appeals to conservatives who, supposedly claim to, hold high family values. Many believe that HB2 will help to prevent instances of sexual assault in bathrooms, thus implying that sexual assaults are likely to be perpetrated by transgender people. In reality, there has been virtually no proof that transgender people are likely to commit sexual assault.
In the past several weeks, a battle has ensued over HB2 between the Justice Department and the state of North Carolina. First, the Justice Department, led by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, claimed that the bill, which limited the rights of transgender people, violated basic civil rights and could be seen as a form of state-sponsored discrimination. In response, Gov. McCrory filed a law suit to oppose the Justice Department and support the bill's lawfulness. To add, the Justice Department has stated that it possesses the authority to cut federal funding to both the NC Department of Public Safety and the University of North Carolina, citing a 1972 law banning sex discrimination in federally-funded schools. Atty Gen. Loretta Lynch, during her statement about the suit, noted, "It's about the founding ideals that have led this country haltingly but inexorably in the direction of fairness, inclusion, and equality for all Americans."
In truth, the passing of HB2 has renewed a continuous debate over the extent of rights which many believe should be granted to all Americans, including transgender people. Much disagreement has arisen over this topic, a great deal of it existing across party lines. Yet, many members of both parties agree that all people, no matter their sexual identification, deserve certain rights. HB2 is a means by which one state government is depriving a large body of people a plurality of well-deserved civil rights. Furthermore, its passing will likely spark a renewed debate over the rights and privileges of transgender people in today's society, which seems to be becoming ever more accepting of LGBT people.
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