North Carolina GOP Revives Controversial Bathroom Bill With New “Women’s Safety and Protection Act”

North Carolina bathroom bill 2025

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina news are reigniting a heated national debate with the introduction of the “Women’s Safety and Protection Act,” a North Carolina bathroom bill 2025 access in public schools and state facilities based on biological sex.

If passed, the legislation would mandate that individuals use restrooms aligned with the sex listed on their original birth certificate, effectively excluding transgender individuals from using facilities that correspond with their gender identity.

But that’s not all — the bill also proposes tight restrictions on gender marker changes for state-issued IDs and birth certificates, aiming to lock legal identification to a person’s sex assigned at birth. This move would impact the ability of transgender individuals to legally align their documents with their lived identity.

Critics say the proposal mirrors the infamous House Bill 2 (HB2) — also known as the “bathroom bill” — which sparked nationwide backlash and cost North Carolina billions in lost business, events, and investments. HB2 became a defining issue in the 2016 election cycle, contributing to the Republican loss of the governorship.

Former Governor Pat McCrory, who signed HB2 into law, believes the political climate has changed. He recently speculated that the corporate and entertainment sectors, along with Democratic leadership, may respond with less resistance this time, citing what he describes as a shift in public sentiment.

However, opponents of the new bill warn that it could once again tarnish North Carolina’s national reputation and alienate businesses and investors, much like HB2 did nearly a decade ago. Democratic lawmakers* have condemned the measure, calling it discriminatory and harmful to the LGBTQ+ community.