Should transgender individuals use bathrooms meant for the opposite sex and thus violate the basic right to privacy in the process? Republican North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory clearly does not think so.
McCrory signed on Wednesday a legislation that overturned an ordinance passed in Charlotte, the state's largest city, that allowed men who perceive themselves to be women to use bathrooms meant for females.
Democrats in the Republican-controlled state legislature walked out of the debate on the bill before the Senate passed it 32-0. The House previously adopted it by a 84-24 vote.
McCrory maintained that the "basic expectation of privacy in the most personal of settings, a restroom or locker room, for each gender was violated by government overreach and intrusion by the mayor and city council of Charlotte."
"This radical breach of trust and security under the false argument of equal access not only impacts the citizens of Charlotte but people who come to Charlotte to work, visit or play," the governor said, as quoted by WND.com.
"This new government regulation defies common sense and basic community norms by allowing, for example, a man to use a woman's bathroom, shower or locker room," he added.
McCrory also said the city council of Charlotte "took action far out of its core responsibilities" when it allowed transgender individuals to use same-sex bathrooms.
The governor urged Charlotte officials to shift their focus on more important priorities for citizens like "police, fire, water and sewer, zoning, roads, and transit."
"It is now time for the city of Charlotte elected officials and state elected officials to get back to working on the issues most important to our citizens," McCrory said.
One of the witnesses who testified in the Senate hearing in favour of the scrapping of the open-bathrooms ordinance in Charlotte was Chloe Jefferson, a junior at Greenville Christian Academy, WRAL reported.
She said she was frightened by the prospect of a boy in the girl's bathroom or locker room.
"It's hard enough for young girls to deal with body image without having boys around when they change clothes," she said.
"I am not the only girl scared," she added.
In Houston, Texas, the lesbian mayor also once initiated a bill allowing transgenders' use of opposite-sex bathrooms, but this was opposed and eventually overturned by voters.
