The bathroom is a place you would expect to use freely when the urge comes to you, but sadly, in North Carolina, that isn’t the case. A bill passed on March 23 discriminates against transgender people on which bathroom they can use. What makes this upsetting is the fact that this bill was passed to override another law in Charlotte that would have protected Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender people from discrimination in public accommodations and housing starting April 1. Critics argue that the bill will protect women and girls from being preyed upon while in the restroom by transgender women, whom they called “men.”  

What doesn’t make any sense is that transgender men and women will have to use a restroom that will make them uncomfortable and not true to their authentic self. They have already gone through the process to look more like the gender they identify with. To tell them to use the bathroom according to the sex  on their birth certificate rather than what makes them comfortable is completely disgusting.

People can argue that transgender women and men use the bathrooms to prey on people, but that is a dramatic statement that holds no truth. This statement about preying upon women and girls comes from a lack of education and understanding about LGBT people and from religious conservatives who do not want to understand what it means to be transgender.

A number of people and companies like Apple and Google have shared their disappointment in North Carolina and its standing on the bill. Protests outside the governor’s mansion have also begun because he passed the bill with an increasing number of people taking to social media to explain their reasoning on why they shouldn’t be forced to use a bathroom that doesn’t match their gender identity. Based on the large amount of backlash, it’s not hard to understand that the majority of people will not stand for this bill and will fight to demolish it.

Whatever the case, the only thing that comes from this bill is the reoccurrence of discrimination in the LGBT community. Transgender people already face plenty of discrimination in their daily life.To make life even harder by forcing them to use the bathroom opposite of their gender identity only adds to the stress they face. When it comes to making laws or passing bills, it should be made with the mentality of helping a community and helping America become a better place with open arms, instead of opposing its people.