A federal judge approved limited access to bathrooms for transgender people in North Carolina public facilities.

Support independent local journalism. Subscribe to The Charlotte Post

Transgender people can use public facilities based on their sexual identity – with limitations – in North Carolina after a federal settlement.

A judge approved the compromise Tuesday between Gov. Roy Cooper and the American Civil Liberties Union that allows transgender people to use restrooms and facilities such as changing rooms according to their gender identity in state government buildings and colleges. The law does not impact private facilities or public K-12 schools.

House Bill 142, which rolled back HB 2, the so-called “bathroom bill,” still limits transgender access in local public spaces unless the General Assembly repeals it. The settlement does not do anything to address state agencies’ and local municipalities’ inability to protect LGBTQ North Carolinians in private employment and in public accommodations.

“This settlement is cause for celebration and a step in the right direction,” said Kendra R. Johnson, executive director at Equality NC. “However, it only goes so far to protect the lives and safety of trans people in this state. We must continue to fight for the full repeal of HB 142 and comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ folks across our state and nation. Otherwise, LGBTQ North Carolinians will never truly be safe.”

HB 2, signed into law in 2016 by former Gov. Pat McCrory, a Charlotte Republican, was a response to a Charlotte ordinance that guaranteed LGBTQ people access to facilities on individuals’ gender identity. HB 2 restricted restroom use to the gender listed on a person’s birth certificate. The law sparked national boycotts against North Carolina and Republican supporters of HB 2 and Cooper agreed to replace it with HB 142, which removed the birth certificate requirement, which foes contend discriminates against the LGBTQ community. They also assert HB 142 is too vague.

“Using facilities that match one’s gender identity is a basic necessity for full participation in society, and this order’s confirmation that transgender people can do so is an important victory,” Tara Borelli, an attorney for the gay rights group Lambda Legal said in a state after the settlement’s announcement.

HB 2 supporters, however, see the compromise as a mistake that open the door to harassment of women and children.

“Governor Cooper’s fake settlement is actually like the fox watching the hen house,” Values NC Values Coalition Executive Director Tami Fitzgerald said in a statement. “He and Attorney General [Josh] Stein have never stood in defense of our bathroom privacy and protections and now they are forcing women and girls to lose their right to privacy and safety in public facilities they control.

“Thank God that public schools are not under the Governor’s control, or every bathroom and locker room in public schools would be open to members of the opposite sex. Women and children have an equal right to safely access public restrooms, showers and changing facilities without risking their safety or seeing men’s genitals on full display.”

Comments