U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder’s injunction doesn’t officially strike down the law; it only impacts restrooms on UNC campuses.
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The University of Vermont women’s basketball team cancelled its game against the University of North Carolina in December as a result of the existence of the HB2 law.
“The individual transgender plaintiffs have clearly shown that they will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief”, he wrote, noting their assertions that single-occupant toilets were generally unavailable at the University of North Carolina. Today, the tightness that I have felt in my chest every day since H.B. HB2 also bans cities and towns from creating their own LGBTQ anti-discrimination laws.
A unisex sign and the “We Are Not This” slogan are outside a bathroom at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina.
The law, which has made waves in North Carolina since the legislature passed it in March, has been the subject of a flurry of litigation by and against the Department of Justice, civil rights groups, Gov.
After reviewing the record in the case and relevant case law, Schroeder concluded a preliminary injunction of part of the law was appropriate.
Schroeder denied the Equal Protection claims and did not issue a ruling on the due process claims. “Second, North Carolina’s decades-old laws against indecent exposure, peeping, and trespass protected the legitimate and significant State interests of privacy and safety”.
Previously tweeting, the National Basketball Association said it was “deeply concerned that this discriminatory law runs counter to our guiding principals of equality and mutual respect and do not know what impact it will have on our ability to successfully host the 2017 All-Star game in Charlotte”. The judge ordered a narrow injunction for just those three people until the court makes a final decision on the state’s bathroom law.
Much of the legal showdown hinges on whether the DOJ can argue that North Carolina has violated federal law by refusing to accept current, widely held medical standards – that gender identity is separate from biological sex.
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“We have long said that the University has not and will not be taking steps to enforce HB2”, Worthington said. Numerous businesses have canceled plans to expand into North Carolina because of the law.
