North Carolina has repealed it's so-called "bathroom bill" restricting which toilet transgender people must use, but LGBT activists warn its replacement is just as harmful. What are the facts?
What is the bathroom bill?
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The law applied in all state-run buildings, including schools, libraries and government offices.
It also overturned local statutes protecting LGBT people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Its introduction in March 2016 sparked fierce criticism from civil rights groups, as well as boycotts by businesses and sports leagues. Forbes estimates North Carolina lost at least $630m (£504m) between March and December as a result.
What's changed?
Following the demonstrations and boycotts, the bathroom bill was overturned last week and replaced with new legislation allowing trans people to use the bathroom of their choice.
However, says Reuters, "they lack any recourse should a person, business or state entity eject or harass them".
Crucially, schools and other local government entities are still barred from extending legal protections to LGBT people until 2020.
Vox highlights the fact that private businesses will be allowed to block trans people from toilets and local governments will be "powerless" to stop them.
Since North Carolina has no state-wide non-discrimination laws protecting LGBT people, "it will continue to be legal across much of the state for an employer to fire someone, a landlord to evict someone solely because of the person's sexual orientation or gender identity", it adds.
Who says what?
Backing for the change has come from new Democratic governor Roy Cooper, who said the original bill had been "a dark cloud" hanging over the state.
"It has stained our reputation, it has discriminated against our people and it has caused great economic harm in many of our communities," he added.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis also said he was glad North Carolina had reached a "common sense compromise".
However, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) dismissed the deal as a "fake repeal", saying it left some of the most discriminatory parts of the original bill in place.
"Let us be clear, this is no compromise," it said. "This is no repeal. This is HB2.0 and is perhaps more insidious in its targeting of LGBTQ and particularly of trans and gender non-conforming people."
Cooper, who ran his campaign on a promise to fully repeal the bill, acknowledged that the new legislation was "not perfect" but maintained that it was step in the right direction.
Who's right?
The deal cannot be considered a full repeal because although transgender people are now able to access the public toilet of their choice, members of the LGBT community remain just as vulnerable to discrimination.
-
Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
-
October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
