North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) said Monday he hopes other states and private sector companies join his state’s lawsuit against the Justice Department over the federal government’s challenge to the state’s sweeping anti-LGBT law.
In a press conference, McCrory said he did not seek out the issue but was responding to policies being made at the local level in the city of Charlotte.
The governor also said that after DOJ sent a letter last week informing him the legislation violates civil rights law, the state was given just five days to reply. He added that DOJ refused his request for an extension unless he publicly said he agreed with the agency’s interpretation of federal law.
“That is why this morning, I have asked a federal court to clarify what the law actually is,” McCrory said. “I anticipate our own legislature, other private sector entities from throughout the United States and possibly other states to join us in seeking this clarification because this is not just a North Carolina issue, this is a national issue.”
The law, which bars local governments from passing their own anti-discrimination laws, included a provision requiring people use the bathroom of their biological sex, widely viewed as an attack on transgender people.
