Justice Department says North Carolina's bathroom law violates the Civil Rights Act

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

On Wednesday, the Justice Department sent officials in North Carolina a letter warning them that a new law requiring transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond with their birth sex violates the federal Civil Rights Act.

The letter, sent by the head of the department's civil rights division, states that the law also violates Title IX, and the state could lose billions in federal education funding, The Charlotte Observer reports. Gov. Pat McCrory (R) called the letter "Washington overreach like we've never seen in our lifetime," but opponents like Democratic Rep. Chris Sgro said the letter confirms that the bill "is deeply discriminatory, violates civil rights law, and needs to be repealed as soon as possible."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.