The North Carolina "Bathroom Bill" Depends on Two Opposing Sides

Hours apart, two opposing complaints were filed over North Carolina's "bathroom bill" that bans transgender people from using the bathroom of the gender they identify with last Monday.  The law states that people must use the bathroom that matches the sex on their birth certificate.

The state of North Carolina states that their law "does not discriminate against transgender people or treat transgender employees differently from non-transgender employees," according to the Washington Post.  But the civil rights office of the Justice Department believes the law to violate civil rights and be about "a great deal more than just bathrooms," said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch when the lawsuit was filed.

Those who back North Carolina's "bathroom bill" say that it is to protect women from rape and sexual assault.  The Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center of the University of Michigan  identifies the myth that transgender people are more likely to rape, when in reality "there are no statistics that support the idea that lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered individuals are more likely to commit sexual assault or be sex offenders than heterosexuals."

According to Rape Response Services Online, more than 50% of those who identify as transgender have been raped or sexually assaulted at some point in their life.  They are more likely to be victims of rape by heterosexual males who account for 98% of all rapists according to the Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine.

Last Monday, the legislature and governor of North Carolina sued to protect this "bathroom bill" that the U.S. Department of Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union says violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Lynch said "It was not so very long ago that states, including North Carolina, had signs above restrooms, water fountains and on public accommodations keeping people out based upon a distinction without a difference."

The Education Department said they are considering cutting North Carolina's funding of more than $4 billion because of this law.  This wouldn't be the first time the government has withheld funds due to civil rights issues.  They stopped funding many Southern states during the 1960s that refused to desegregate.

The University of North Carolina's President Margaret Spellings knows that the school cannot function without federal funding and says the University "will obey the state law without changing any policies or enforcing the bathroom requirements," according to USA Today College.

At this point two courts could take up this case.  CNN says The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina's Western Division where North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory filed the lawsuit against the Justice Department or the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina where the Justice Department filed its case against the state of North Carolina.