Breaking: Alabama City Council Rescinds Sweeping Anti-Trans Law After Legal Warnings

ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center Advised Oxford City Council Law Violates US Constitution

The City Council of Oxford, Alabama has just rescinded a law it passed last week in response to Target‘s announcement that its restrooms are trans-inclusive. The ordinance has been described as “the most far-reaching law of its type in the county.” The City Council Wednesday afternoon voted 3-2 to repeal the ordinance that made it illegal for transgender people to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity. The law applied to not only government offices, but all public accommodations, including stores and restaurants, as Buzzfeed’s Dominic Holden reports.

“The Oxford City Council did the right thing by recalling its discriminatory ordinance,” Chinyere Ezie, a staff attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center says. “We are pleased the council members came to the conclusion that nobody should be criminalized simply for using the restroom.”

In a joint letter with the ACLU of Alabama, the SPLC explained to Oxford lawmakers that the ordinance exposes the city to “substantial legal liability as well as a loss of federal funding.”

RELATED: Are One Million People Really Boycotting Target Over Its Trans-Inclusive Policy?

“In addition, the Ordinance harms already marginalized transgender individuals and leaves all residents of Oxford vulnerable to invasions of privacy, without conferring any meaningful protections.”

The SPLC advised Oxford the ordinance “violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment by targeting transgender people for ‘different and unequal treatment.’ It also violated the due process clause.”

Here’s City Council President Steven Waits last week announcing the law’s passage:

 

Image: Screenshot via AL.com/YouTube