On Monday, a federal court signed off on a settlement ensuring that transgender individuals have equal access to public facilities, including restrooms in public buildings.
In 2016, amid a wave of fear-mongering, the General Assembly passed HB 2, known as the bathroom bill, which prohibited cities from enacting nondiscrimination ordinances that included protections for LGBTQ residents and required LGBTQ residents to use public bathrooms that conformed with the gender on their birth certificate. That requirement was challenged in court; an injunction later that year blocked the state from enforcing the law.
In 2017—following a backlash that saw widespread protests, calls for boycotts, and Governor Pat McCrory’s losing reelection bid—the General Assembly passed HB 142, which repealed the now-unenforceable bathroom provision and a few of the other more odious parts of HB 2, in an effort to keep the NCAA from pulling collegiate championships. Though HB 142 kept other discriminatory aspects of HB 2 in place—including the prohibition on local nondiscrimination ordinances, which won’t sunset until next year—Cooper signed it.
LGBTQ groups sued again, concerned about how a section of HB 142 could be interpreted. It prevents local governments and state agencies from regulating access to multiple occupancy restrooms, showers, or changing facilities, “except in accordance with an act of the General Assembly.”
The settlement approved Monday holds that the state—including future administrations—cannot use HB 142 “to prevent transgender people from lawfully using public facilities in accordance with their gender identity.”
“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,” Lambda Legal Attorney Tara Borelli said in a statement put out by the ACLU. “Being able to safely navigate everyday life when you set foot outside your home is not a luxury. It is a basic foundation for being treated and accepted as co-equal members of society, like everyone else.”
But the fight to end transgender discrimination in the state is far from over, said Joaquin Carcaño, the lead plaintiff in the case.
“After so many years of managing the anxiety of HB 2 and fighting so hard, I am relieved that we finally have a court order to protect transgender people from being punished under these laws,” Carcaño said in a statement. “This is a tremendous victory but not a complete one. While I am glad that Governor Cooper agreed to this settlement, it remains devastating to know that local protections for LGBTQ people are still banned under state law while so many members of our community continue to face violence, harassment, and discrimination simply because of who we are. The fight for full justice will continue.”
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