Officials in North Carolina schools are now allowing students to pepper spray their transgender schoolmates if they violate the state's new anti-LGBT bathroom law. North Carolina's House Bill 2 law overrides a ruling that protects LGBT individuals from discrimination in housing and public accommodations.
The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education approved the use of pepper sprays at schools, according to NY Daily News. Despite claims that pepper sprays could be fatal to some people, the school board argued that a laptop or a baseball bat would be more dangerous if used as defense mechanisms.
Over 19,000 pupils study at the Rowan-Salisbury school district, which has eight high schools. The board said students should only use pepper sprays as a defense mechanism while they are at school.
Police Will Not Arrest Bathroom Violators
North Carolina's anti-LGBT stance has clashed spectacularly against the U.S. Justice Department. The state's Raleigh Police Department, however, refuses to arrest LGBTs who do not use public bathrooms that correspond with their biological sex.
Damien Graham, the spokesperson for Raleigh Police, said HB2 "doesn't speak to enforcement nor penalty," NPR reported. Due to the absence of specificity in the bill, the police department is uncertain on how to enforce the ruling to violators.
Graham said the department will respond if someone reported a violator of HB2, but they will not penalize or arrest that person. Christina Hallingse, the public information officer for the Asheville Police Department, told NPR that HB2 will not be properly implemented in North Carolina because it would negatively impact the resources of police departments.
Hallingse said HB2, which was introduced and signed into law in March, would need police officers to guard public restrooms and ask for birth certificates from people. With this added duty, police officers would be taken off the streets and off patrol, away from more serious crimes and offenses in the state.
US Justice Department Sues North Carolina
The U.S. federal government has filed a civil rights lawsuit against North Carolina this week. That lawsuit came a few hours after Gov. Pat McCrory sued the Department of Justice for threatening to slash the state's federal funding because it violates existing laws that protect people from sex-based discrimination at work or school. The cuts in federal funding will affect the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and the University of North Carolina, CNN reported.
HB2 received criticisms from civil liberties groups, LGBT advocates and big businesses, but it also received commendations from organizations like the Family Research Council. PayPal and Deutsche Bank canceled its expansion plans in North Carolina, while musicians Demi Lovato, Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam refused to hold concerts in the state.
