Transgender plaintiffs drop request for appeals court review

RALEIGH, N.C. – Transgender residents of North Carolina have withdrawn their request for an appeals court to review their ongoing legal battle against the state.

The appeal had challenged the requirement that transgender people use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates in many public buildings. The motion filed Thursday notes that the provision was taken off the books under a compromise deal last month.

However, lawyers from Lambda Legal and the ACLU have vowed to continue their legal fight against the law that replaced House Bill 2. Their lawsuit is still pending in a lower court.

The new law prohibits local governments from enacting new antidiscrimination protections for workplaces, restaurants and hotels until 2020. It also says legislators, not local governments, are in charge of any future restroom policies.