May 23, 2016
The controversy surrounding the North Carolina bathroom bill is not about bigotry. Ultimately, the legal battle being forged between the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and North Carolina is an issue of separation of powers. And it's not clear it is a battle that DOJ can win! Our democracy requires a clear separation of power between the three branches of government. Congress makes the law. The judiciary, including the Supreme Court, interprets the law. And the executive branch -- which includes the Department of Justice -- enforces it.
There is nothing in the Civil Rights Act that spells out “gender identification” as a protected class but the Obama Justice Department has consistently “interpreted” the protected class of “sex” as including “gender identification.” Yet Congress made it clear by its silence that having separate but equal bathrooms for men and women is legal and not a violation of a person’s civil rights.
North Carolina’s House Bill 2 proponents claim that since Congress was silent on the issue and did not specify “gender identification” as a protected class, HB2 falls within the jurisdiction of the states. DOJ is acting upon its own interpretation to enforce the law rather than upon the law itself, and that causes constitutional separation of powers issues.
The Constitution is clear that the Congress, and only the Congress, has the power to write laws and the Executive Branch and the Judiciary are not supposed to create law out of thin air -- although lately these two governmental branches seem to be stepping over the clear cut delineation of powers set forth in the Constitution [i.e., the EPA water rule and the Supreme Court ruling in that Obamacare subsidies are constitutional because the Congress did an “inartful” job of drafting the legislation].
It’s not the DOJ’s role to make laws simply because it believes there should be such laws. It’s not “law” when an ideologically-driven administration can reinterpret existing laws, thereby potentially overruling duly-enacted state laws. Our Constitution was designed to prevent this sort of shenanigans!
But beyond the legal debate there is more. The LBGT efforts to legalize same-sex “marriages” was just the beginning. It’s clear their agenda goes way beyond just that issue. Now they want to allow men in women’s bathrooms and locker rooms and it won’t stop there.
HB2 is trying to protect women. There are lots of examples from all across the country of men videotaping women in public bathrooms and school showers.
This issue encompasses more than just legal procedure. It’s another attempt at social engineering! The media incessantly claims that transgender boys are more comfortable in girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms and showers but nobody seems to acknowledge how uncomfortable the girls/women will be. And such access will not make transgender boys/men feel more accepted, more liked or less picked on. The N.C. law is about protecting the dignity, privacy, and security of women. We shouldn’t stand idly by and make it easier for “perps” to videotape or do worse to unsuspecting women!
Bill, Mark, and John
|