Obama administration calls NC’s LGBT law ‘mean-spirited’

President Barack Obama’s administration joined a chorus of Democratic Party opposition Monday to North Carolina’s new LGBT discrimination law.

“Like so many others across the country, we are concerned about the potential harmful impact of this law, especially on transgender youth, and believe it is mean-spirited and sends the wrong message,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a news release Monday afternoon.

“This administration is strongly committed to advancing the cause of equality for LGBT Americans and to ensuring that they do not face discrimination simply because of who they are or who they love.”

The new law, signed by Gov. Pat McCrory last week, creates a new statewide discrimination policy that doesn’t protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It says the statewide policy will “supersede and preempt” all local ordinances on the subject – effectively revoking several city ordinances that specifically banned discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

The law bans local school districts from allowing students to use communal bathrooms and locker rooms that don’t match the gender on their birth certificates. Schools still could allow transgender students to use single-occupancy facilities.

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Obama administration calls NC’s LGBT law ‘mean-spirited’."