海角大神

When the United States Justice Department took aim at North Carolina鈥檚 transgender 鈥渂athroom law鈥� Wednesday, state House Speaker Tim Moore didn鈥檛 mince words.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to get bullied by the Obama administration,鈥� he told reporters Thursday. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not how this works.鈥�

But there are signs 鈥� both within his state and without 鈥� that such defiance in defense of bathroom bills throughout the South might not work, either. The Justice Department letter, claiming that North Carolina鈥檚 House Bill 2 violated federal civil rights protections, has begun to flip the chessboard.

Concerned about reprisals, the city boasting the toughest transgender bathroom law in the nation rescinded it this week, and North Carolina鈥檚 Republican Gov. Pat McCrory 鈥� a staunch defender of HB 2 鈥� told a radio show 鈥淚 might be in trouble.鈥�

For weeks, states considering passing bathroom bills faced the vague threat of business reprisals. Now they face the concrete threat of billions of lost federal dollars. North Carolina faces a Monday deadline.聽

It has put Republican leaders across the South in a difficult spot.

鈥淭he ball鈥檚 in McCrory鈥檚 court,鈥� says Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law in Virginia who has followed the HB 2 debate. 鈥淯nfortunately, politicians [like Governor McCrory] can have a field day with this issue for their base, and that鈥檚 a big problem, since it鈥檚 stoking fears.鈥�

For many conservatives, the resistance to allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice is well-deep. At the core of their concern is not just bathroom access, but a fundamental reconfiguration of social standards.

North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger responded to the Justice Department letter by saying that the administration and federal courts 鈥渁re on the verge of completing their radical social reengineering of our society by forcing middle school-aged girls to share school locker rooms with boys.鈥�

Many Americans, even some gay and lesbian people, are confused by issues around gender identity, says Don Haider-Markel, a political scientist at the University of Kansas who studies lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues.

North Carolina isn鈥檛 helping, other analysts say. For example, some politicians have defended the bathroom bill as a way to protect women and children from attacks. But no such attacks have occurred, according to several newspaper investigations.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult for people to figure out the truth, particularly in a state like North Carolina, where so much intentional disinformation is coming directly from the government, the governor, and the General Assembly,鈥� says Shannon Gilreath, a professor at Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, N.C. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e intentionally running a propaganda campaign to malign transgender people in this state.鈥�

For its part, Wednesday鈥檚 Justice Department letter to North Carolina was clear. The protections of federal civil rights law mean North Carolina鈥檚 House Bill 2 鈥渋s facially discriminatory against transgender [state] employees on the basis of sex because it treats transgender employees, whose gender identity does not match their biological sex 鈥� differently from similarly situated non transgender employees.鈥�

A federal court decision last month in Virginia found that neither states nor municipalities could tell Americans what bathrooms they鈥檙e allowed to use.

In comments to 鈥淭he Big Show with John Boy and Billy鈥� this week, Governor McCrory said he can鈥檛 understand how a law aimed at protecting privacy in public restrooms is seen as discriminatory. 鈥淚t makes you a little nervous鈥� if transgender people are allowed to use the bathroom of their gender identity, he said.

But he added: 鈥淪ociety is changing quickly and anyone who gets in the way is in trouble. I might be in trouble.鈥�

The comment came as Oxford, Ala., which had passed the toughest transgender bathroom law in the nation, rescinded it Wednesday. The potential for legal repercussions against the town weighed heavy on the discussion, according to newspaper reports.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, who last month signed into law a bill allowing municipalities to set 鈥渟ex-specific standards鈥� for their 鈥渋ntimate facilities,鈥� also told reporters that he鈥檚 aware that the Justice Department letter puts his state on notice.

Some 14 states and municipalities have debated some 200 bathroom-related bills this year.