The Department of Justice (DOJ) has warned North Carolina that the anti-transgender law HB2 is in violation of the federal Civil Rights Act, but the Republican leaders who ushered its passage in a single-day special session do not seem particularly concerned.
In his official statement, Gov. Pat McCrory (R) claimed, “The right and expectation of privacy in one of the most private areas of our personal lives is now in jeopardy.” During a town hall Wednesday evening, he reiterated his belief that the law is “common sense” and downplayed the Department’s letter, calling it “one interpretation by one agency.”
North Carolina Speaker of the House Tim Moore (R) also regurgitated the same talking point. “Basic concepts — common sense about privacy and expectations of privacy — are getting thrown out the window by what the Obama administration is trying to do in this,” he said.
In an extended statement, Moore decried the letter as government overreach, accusing the Obama Administration of continuing “to circumvent the will of the electorate and instead unilaterally exert its extreme agenda on the people directly through executive orders, radical interpretations of well-settled common-sense laws and through the federal court system.”
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R) similarly attacked the letter as a “gross overreach” that “deserves to be struck down in federal court.” McCrory, Moore, and Berger all refused to speculate on exactly how they will respond.
Conservative organizations claimed that the Department of Justice was engaging in “bullying.” Kellie Fiedorek of the Alliance Defending Freedom called it “absurd” that the Civil Rights Act is “intended to force states to open their restrooms to people of the opposite biological sex” — neglecting the reality of transgender people’s experiences. “The DOJ should stop bullying North Carolina with falsehoods about what federal law requires.”
The NC Values Coalition, the state’s primary anti-LGBT advocacy group, suggested, “The DOJ should be ashamed of itself for bullying North Carolinians, compromising the privacy and safety of our citizens, and spreading lies about what the clear language of Title IX and Title VII state.” Never to miss an opportunity for a fear-mongering talking point, the coalition suggested that these bullying tactics seek to “force our little girls to undress in front of men.”
The state has until Monday to assure the DOJ that it is not enforcing the law and is maintaining compliance with the Civil Rights Act. The public and financial backlash so far has seemingly not convinced anyone to reconsider HB2, so it remains to be seen if the threat of losing federal funding could change that.
Update:
Speaker Moore announced Thursday that the legislation “will take no action by Monday.” Speaking to the reporters, he confirmed that the DOJ’s deadline “will come and go. We don’t ever want to lose any money, but we’re not going to get bullied by the Obama administration to take action prior to Monday’s date. That’s not how this works.”
State Rep. Cecil Brockman (D) offered this counter-argument:
#HB2 became law in less than 12 hours. 5 days should be more than enough time to decide how to clean up after it. https://t.co/MacA6DAvEm
— Cecil Brockman (@CecilBrockman) May 5, 2016