RALEIGH, N.C. — A potentially epic clash over transgender rights took shape Monday when the U.S. Justice Department sued North Carolina over the state's bathroom law after the governor refused to back down.
Gov. Pat McCrory's administration filed the lawsuit seeking to keep in place the law the U.S. Justice Department said last week violated the civil rights of transgender people.
READ THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA'S LAWSUIT
"North Carolina does not treat transgender employees differently from non-transgender employees," the lawsuit claims.
In response, the Department of Justice has also filed a lawsuit against North Carolina, saying part of the controversial HB2 law violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
[ READ THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE'S LAWSUIT ]
Following the announcement of the DOJ’s lawsuit, McCrory’s office issued a statement:
"Gov. McCrory is appropriately seeking legal certainty to a complex issue impacting employers and students throughout the country," said Josh Ellis, communications director. "In contrast, the Attorney General is using divisive rhetoric to advance the Obama administration's strategy of making laws that bypass the constitutional authority of Congress and our courts."
Earlier in the day, McCrory discussed the lawsuit at a press conference, saying he does not agree with the Department of Justice's interpretation of HB2. The governor said his lawsuit asks a federal court to clarify what the law actually says with billions in federal aid at stake.
Click play to watch Gov. Pat McCrory's comments
McCrory and other state officials have been under pressure since the U.S. Justice Department warned last week that the law passed in March violates civil rights protections against sex discrimination on the job and in education for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
"We are seeking a court order declaring House Bill 2’s restroom restriction impermissibly discriminatory, as well as a statewide bar on its enforcement," U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Monday. "While the lawsuit currently seeks declaratory relief, I want to note that we retain the option of curtailing federal funding to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and the University of North Carolina as this case proceeds."
Charlotte attorney Luke Largess told Eyewitness News reporter Elsa Gillis that Lynch’s move isn't unprecedented.
"In the kind of tensest moments, legal moments of the Civil Rights era, there were times when the federal government was trying to use financial purse strings to force states to do things," Largess said.
But he said it's unusual territory and while the process of withholding funds is uncertain, Largess doesn't think that would happen immediately.
"I think there would be some kind of warning, some timeframe to respond and then there will just be a freeze, probably on funding until the issues are resolved," he said.
The biggest focus now is on the court’s interpretation of the law and whether the state is in violation of it, he said.
"It may be that both of these cases go on separate tracks,” he said. “You might get the same ruling out of both courts. I would think that you would because the law is pretty clear on this."
It's possible the courts could consolidate all or some of these cases or they could stay separate.
[ STORY: North Carolina leaders denounce federal threat on HB2 ]
In letters, federal civil rights enforcement attorneys focused particularly on provisions requiring transgender people to use public restrooms that correspond to their biological sex. Federal civil rights enforcement attorneys focused in their warning letters particularly on provisions requiring transgender people to use public restrooms that correspond to their biological sex.
McCrory's lawsuit, filed in federal court in North Carolina, asks a judge to block Justice Department action that could threaten billions of dollars in federal money flowing to the state.
The lawsuit called the law a "common sense privacy policy" and said the Justice Department's position was a "baseless and blatant overreach."
"This is an attempt to unilaterally rewrite long-established federal civil rights laws in a manner that is wholly inconsistent with the intent of Congress and disregards decades of statutory interpretation by the courts," the lawsuit said.
Click play to watch U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch's comments
McCrory has called the law a common-sense measure. He said it's designed to protect the privacy of people who use bathrooms and locker rooms and to expect all people inside the facilities to be of the same gender.
Lynch called the law discriminatory and referenced other "discriminatory responses to historic moments" including Jim Crow laws and Brown v. Board of Education.
"This action is about a great deal more than just bathrooms. This is about the dignity and respect we accord our fellow citizens and the laws that we, as a people and as a country, have enacted to protect them – indeed, to protect all of us," Lynch said.
UNC President Margaret Spellings also offered her response to the U.S. Department of Justice regarding federal nondiscrimination law and the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act.
"As the Attorney General alluded to in her press conference today, we have been in regular contact with the Department about ways to constructively resolve its inquiry into HB2 and the University’s compliance with federal civil rights laws," she said. "Even though the Justice Department has chosen to file an action in federal court, we intend to continue to engage in further discussions with them on this issue."
Spellings said they plan to review the department's complaint and consult with the board of governors and legal counsel Tuesday to determine the next steps.
McCrory said Sunday he was not aware of any North Carolina cases of transgender people using their gender identity to access a restroom and molest someone, a fear frequently cited by the law's supporters as the main reason for its passage.
While McCrory agreed that the Justice Department could warn of consequences if North Carolina established separate bathrooms for white and black people, the governor said the agency goes too far in contending that transgender people enjoy similar civil rights protections.
"We can definitely define the race of people. It's very hard to define transgender or gender identity," McCrory said. He added that he had made a request for more time to respond to the Justice Department but that was denied.
House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger sued Monday, several hours after Gov. Pat McCrory's administration filed a similar complaint. Their lawsuit asks a judge to rule that the law does not violate federal civil rights law.
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