Governor Cuomo and Attorney General Schneiderman Announce Filing of Amicus Brief Challenging North Carolina's Discriminatory Anti-Transgender Law
New York and Washington State Lead Coalition of Ten States and The District of Columbia in Filing a Friend-of-the-Court Brief Seeking to Prevent Enforcement of North Carolina's So-Called "Bathroom Bill"Coalition and Two Additional States File Second Brief Opposing Texas' Challenge of Federal Guidance That Seeks to Prevent Transgender Discrimination in Public Schools
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman recently
announced that New York State is leading a coalition of ten states and
the District of Columbia in challenging the blatantly discriminatory North
Carolina law that limits the ability of cities and localities to protect
the rights of transgender and non-gender-conforming people. Additionally,
the coalition, along with two other states, filed a second court brief
opposing the State of Texas's challenge to federal guidance allowing
transgender students to use facilities consistent with their gender identity.
"The kind of divisiveness and discrimination encouraged by this law
directly undermine the core values of this nation,"
Governor Cuomo said. "Just as in New York, this country's strength is found in our
diversity and inclusiveness. At a time when so many are seeking to create
rifts that separate Americans from one another, it is our responsibility
to fight back and do all we can to bring this nation closer together."
"Transgender people deserve to live with dignity, free from discrimination,"
said Attorney General Schneiderman. "New York knows firsthand that forcing transgender students and workers
to use facilities inconsistent with their gender identities is unnecessary,
unworkable, and undermines the core American ideal of equal justice under
law. My office will keep fighting every day to defend the fundamental
guarantee of equal protection of the law for all Americans."
North Carolina's Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, also
known as North Carolina H.B.2, was enacted in March 2016 in reaction to
a nondiscrimination ordinance in the city of Charlotte, which included
protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity. The
North Carolina law mandates that local boards of education and public
agencies require single-sex, multiple-occupancy bathrooms or changing
facilities to be designated for use by—and used only by—persons
based on their "biological sex." The law defines "biological
sex" as "the physical condition of being male or female, which
is stated on a person's birth certificate."
In response to the discriminatory law, Governor Cuomo signed an
executive order in March banning non-essential state travel to North Carolina. Attorney
General Schneiderman also banned non-essential travel by Office of the
Attorney General staff to North Carolina. In May, the United States sued
North Carolina, its Governor, the North Carolina Department of Public
Safety, the University of North Carolina, and the UNC Board of Governors,
alleging that implementation and enforcement of H.B. 2 would violate three
federal antidiscrimination statutes. New York and its coalition filed
this brief in support of the United States suit, arguing that the experience
of the states shows that the North Carolina law is not needed to protect
safety and privacy rights, and the law instead will cause unjustified
and unnecessary harm to transgender people.
New York is joined by nine other states in the brief including: Washington,
California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico,
Oregon, and Vermont, and the District of Columbia.
This coalition was also joined by New Hampshire and Delaware in filing
a second friend-of-the-court brief opposing the State of Texas's challenge
to federal guidance that allows transgender students to use single-sex
multiple-occupancy facilities consistent with their gender identity.
In May 2016, Texas and several other states filed suit in federal court
challenging federal guidelines that direct public schools to allow individuals
to use facilities that align with their gender identity. According to
the federal Departments of Education and Justice, which issued the guidelines
under a statute that extends federal antidiscrimination law to educational
programs that receive federal funding, the guidelines are intended to
ensure that "transgender students enjoy a supportive and nondiscriminatory
school environment." While Texas claims that the federal guidance
poses a risk to the safety of the public, the coalition's brief again
argues that no such harm has been demonstrated and that without this federal
guidance, transgender people will be at risk of unjustified and unnecessary harm.