Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department has dropped a lawsuit filed by the Obama administration against North Carolina, following the “fake repeal”—as one Lambda Legal attorney referred to it—of the disastrous HB2 bill:
In a five-page notice, the Justice Department under U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced it has voluntarily withdrawn the lawsuit filed last year by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
“In light of the passage of North Carolina Session Law 2017-4, House Bill 142, and pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41, the Parties in the above-captioned action hereby stipulate that all claims or causes of action against Defendants and all counterclaims against Plaintiff which were the subject matter of this lawsuit are hereby dismissed with prejudice,” the notice says.
After North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law the replacement measure for HB2, whether the Justice Department would continue the lawsuit it filed against the state over the initial law was in question. As of last month, a Justice Department said the U.S. government “reviewing its litigation posture” in the aftermath of the HB2 replacement.
The national ACLU, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Lambda Legal have all said that their lawsuit will continue, according to the Washington Blade:
“Here is yet another instance of the Trump administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions withdrawing the federal government’s support from transgender individuals, and they are using the fake repeal of HB2 as cover,” [Lambda Legal’s Jon] Davidson said. “Sadly, this was not unexpected, now that anti-transgender forces are in charge of the Departments of Justice and Education. Once again, the Trump administration continues to abandon transgender Americans.”
Sessions’ move comes just six weeks after the administration wanted a pat on the back from LGBTQ Americans for releasing a statement that began with, “President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community.” Right. With Sessions at the helm of the Justice Department, there will be none for the LGBTQ community so long as he can help it.