UPDATE: The DOJ files a countersuit against North Carolina Governor Pat McCory and Secretary Frank Perry, as well as the University of North Carolina, the UNC Board of Governors and the N.C. Department of Public Safety.
Following the Department of Justice’s letter on May 4 indicating that House Bill 2 violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory and Secretary of Public Safety Frank Perry have filed a lawsuit against the DOJ in defense of the controversial bill.
In the initial filing, McCrory and Perry argue “The Department’s position is a baseless and blatant overreach. This is an attempt to unilaterally rewrite long-established federal civil rights laws.”
Many critics argue that this lawsuit is simply political resistance to equality under the law, to the detriment of NC citizens.
“While transgender people in North Carolina remain in the perilous position of being forced to avoid public restrooms or risk violation of state law, Governor McCrory has doubled down on discrimination against them,” said the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina in a statement Monday.
Governor McCrory defended his legal action on Monday, claiming that the lawsuit is in the interest of taxpayers across the state.
“Our lawsuit seeks to ensure that NC continues to receive federal funding until the courts clarify federal law and resolve this national issue,” McCrory said in a statement Monday.
