DOJ Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Against North Carolina For Bathroom Law

Katie Pavlich | May 09, 2016 4:45 PM

Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced Monday afternoon the Department of Justice has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state of North Carolina for refusing to repeal House Bill 2, legislation that mandates people using restrooms in public buildings use one that matches their biological birth gender, not the gender in which they identify.

#Breaking: Legislative GOP leaders Berger & Moore file second lawsuit against DOJ over #HB2 action #ncpol pic.twitter.com/wIWINNppJr

— Nick Ochsner (@NickOchsnerWBTV) May 9, 2016 >

Lynch called the law "impermissibly discriminatory" and argued it was on par with Jim Crow laws of the old, racist South. The federal suit requests a preliminary injunction from a judge to block implementation of the law.

Earlier today North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department and called on Congress to come up with a legal framework defining discrimination surrounding transgender issues.

Gov. Pat McCrory addressed the controversial North Carolina bathroom law at a press conference Monday afternoon, explaining why he has decided to sue the federal government for trying to block it.

Just five days ago, he related, the Justice Department sent letters to his office that insisted their law requiring government employees use public restrooms that correspond to their birth certificates is in conflict with federal policy and violates the Civil Rights Act. McCrory had a limited time to respond before the agency threatened to strip his state of federal funding.

“This is not just a North Carolina issue, this is a national issue,” he said, for it imposes a new law on every private sector in the country.

“I think it’s time for the U.S. Congress to bring clarity to our national anti-discrimination provisions under Title VII and Title IX.”