The North Carolina law directs transgender people to use public toilets corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificate. “LGBT travellers may be affected by legislation passed recently in the states of North Carolina and MS”.
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Transgender individuals, the groups said, already experience “unconscionably high rates of sexual assault”, and forcing them out of the bathrooms in which they are comfortable makes them vulnerable to assault.
Thomson ReutersUS President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in central London with Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron (unseen) following a meeting at Downing Street, in London(Reuters) – North Carolina Republicans criticized President Barack Obama on Friday after the president told a news conference in London the state’s law on transgender bathroom use was wrong and should be overturned.
Obama also said that the move to pass the laws was motivated not exclusively by animus, but by political considerations and some lawmakers’ sincerely held convictions. The law also excludes LGBT people from state anti-discrimination protections, blocks local governments from expanding LGBT protections, and bars all types of workplace discrimination lawsuits from state courts.
The president explained that he believed the laws were in response to “politics, in part”, as well as to “some strong emotions that are generated by people”. “But these anti-LGBT bills, like the ones in North Carolina and MS, actually make us less safe, not more safe”, the reality TV star and activist added.
“Although I respect their different viewpoints, I think it’s very important for us not to send signals that anybody is treated differently”, Obama said.
“The people of North Carolina and MS are great people, they really are”, said Obama.
Stay on topic – This helps keep the thread focused on the discussion at hand.
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Be Civil – It’s OK to have a difference in opinion but there’s no need to be a jerk.
