Feb. 24--The City Council of Charlotte, N.C., opened the bathroom door only to see the state threaten to slam it shut.
On Monday, the council approved broad civil rights protections for gay, lesbian and transgender people. On Tuesday, conservative state politicians vowed to override at least one part of the decision.
Their biggest concern? The new law includes a provision that allows transgender people to use public bathrooms that match their gender identities.
Opponents dubbed it "the bathroom bill." The evangelist Franklin Graham, a North Carolina native, had called the law "wicked" and "filthy" and said it "would allow pedophiles, perverts and predators into women's bathrooms." North Carolina's speaker of the House on Tuesday called it "a major public safety issue."
