Lawsuit: Effects of ‘bathroom bill’ linger in North Carolina
RALEIGH, N.C. — The law that replaced North Carolina’s notorious “bathroom bill” sports a new look but maintains LGBT discrimination and prevents transgender people from using restrooms matching their gender identity, according to a lawsuit Friday.
The lawsuit renews a high-profile legal battle that has thrust North Carolina into the centre of the national debate over LGBT rights. The state took the “bathroom bill” off the books in late March after a yearlong backlash that hurt North Carolina’s reputation and caused businesses and sports leagues to back out of lucrative events and projects.
But lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal said the replacement law, known as H.B. 142, continues the harms of its predecessor.
“Legislators were forced to rewrite the law,” ACLU lawyer Chris Brook told reporters Friday. “But make no mistake … H.B. 142 is a wolf in sheep’s clothing crafted to keep discrimination intact but sporting a new look.”