Five Government Agencies Have Been Reviewing Anti-LGBT Law but Will Await Court Ruling
No federal funds will be withheld from North Carolina over HB2. Although five government agencies have been reviewing the anti-LGBT law the Justice Department says violates the Civil Rights Act, no action from the Obama administration will take place until a federal court has ruled. The review, by the Departments of Transportation, Housing & Urban Development, Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education have been taking place for over a month.
“This was a review that agencies were working on together as they evaluate what impact this law would have on problems that are funded by the federal government,†White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told Washington Blade Chief Political & White House Reporter Chris Johnson Thursday (video below).
“The White House has been a part of that review. The Department of Justice has been a part of that review. But all of that has been separate from the Department of Justice’s conclusion that they needed to take action to enforce the Civil Rights of 1964, and what has been concluded as a result of that effort is that the administration will not take action to withhold funding while this enforcement process is playing out in the courts.â€
A study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that North Carolina could lose nearly $5 billion annually in federal funding alone should the federal government choose to act.Â
HB2 has been deemed both illegal and unconstitutional by legal experts. It nullified all local LGBT nondiscrimination ordinances, mandates that transgender people may use only public restrooms corresponding to their birth certificates, and bans local governments from enacting minimum wage and employment discrimination laws.
Watch:
EARLIER:
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