LGBT Groups Appeal Ruling on HB2 to Gain Expanded Relief

Groups Hope to Expand Ruling for All Transgender People in North Carolina

LGBT civil rights and legal groups are appealing a positive but very narrow ruling, hoping to have it expanded. On Sunday Lambda Legal, the ACLU, the ACLU of of North Carolina, and the law firm Jenner & Block announced they will appeal a federal district court’s injunction, handed down late Friday, that banned the University of North Carolina from implementing the “bathroom bill” portions of Governor Pat McCrory’s HB2. That injunction applied only to the plaintiffs in the case who sued the school. 

The four groups filed the notice of appeal with the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, hoping to have the court expand the injunction against UNC to include all transgender people in North Carolina.

“We are thrilled that H.B. 2 is starting to crumble and relieved for our clients who have had a huge burden lifted as a result of the court’s Friday ruling,” Chris Brook, legal director of the ACLU of North Carolina, said in a statement. “But we know the harmful effects of H.B. 2 are far reaching, and that is why we are seeking broader relief for the thousands of transgender people who call North Carolina home.”

Lambda Legal senior attorney Tara Borelli added: “Though the district court importantly recognized the serious harm to three of our clients as a result of H.B. 2, that recognition unfortunately didn’t extend to a ruling rectifying those harms for other transgender individuals in North Carolina.”

“We are optimistic that H.B. 2’s days are numbered and are appealing Friday’s ruling in order to bring relief to all those who live in or visit North Carolina.”

EARLIER:

Breaking: Federal Judge Bans University of North Carolina From Enforcing ‘Bathroom Bill’ Part of HB2

New Study: Large Majority of Americans Support LGBT Nondiscrimination Laws, Oppose ‘Bathroom Bills’

One Term Pat? North Carolina GOP Gov. McCrory Now Losing by 9 Points in Latest Poll

 

Image by Corey Epps via Twitter