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Chris Sgro said the letter confirms that the bill "is deeply discriminatory, violates civil rights law, and needs to be repealed as soon as possible."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 is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.