After HB2 compromise, GOP legislators want tougher penalties for bathroom trespassing

Two Republican legislators say they’ll file bills that would create stiffer punishments for people charged with trespassing in the bathroom of the opposite sex.

Sen. Danny Britt of Lumberton and Rep. Brenden Jones of Tabor City announced their proposal on Facebook shortly after the legislature replaced House Bill 2 last week.

The new law doesn’t include a provision requiring transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds to the gender on the birth certificate. The law says that only the state government can set bathroom policies, but it doesn’t specifically address transgender people.

Britt and Jones both voted in favor of the HB2 replacement but say that additional protections for bathroom safety are needed. They note that state law already considers entering an opposite-sex bathroom a second-degree trespassing offense.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article142482614.html