Justice Department drops its ‘ bathroom bill’ suit

HOT-BUTTON ISSUE /

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Trump administration dropped a lawsuit Friday accusing North Carolina of discriminating against LGBT residents in response to the state’s decision to undo its “bathroom bill.”

The Justice Department’s withdrawal represents the first significant movement in a tangle of legal action over the state’s nondiscrimination laws since a deal last month to get rid of House Bill 2.

LGBT advocates have vowed to continue a separate federal lawsuit, saying the replacement law still violates the rights of gay and transgender people.

North Carolina’s compromise got rid of the most well-known provision of House Bill 2 that required transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates in many public buildings. The new law makes clear that state legislators, not local governments, are in charge of any future bathroom policies.

The replacement law also prohibits local governments from enacting new nondiscrimination ordinances for workplaces, hotels and restaurants until 2020.

Tara Borelli, a lawyer for Lambda Legal, said her group will amend its lawsuit to challenge the new law, arguing that it continues harmful aspects of its predecessor. She said losing the Justice Department as an ally won’t weaken the case.

“This move does not affect the merits of the case,” she said. “HB2 was unconstitutional as of the moment it was enacted. HB142 was unconstitutional the moment it was enacted. We don’t think the courts will have any trouble seeing that.”

Separate from the Justice Department’s decision, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals this week asked Borelli for more information about how the new law will affect their case.

The new law received a vote of confidence from the NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference, which had moved events out of the state. The NBA also is considering bringing back its All-Star Game, which it pulled from Charlotte this year.