--- title: Transgender Bathroom Bills: Loretta Lynch Weighs In description: Loretta Lynch said North Carolina's controversial law governing transgender bathroom access shows how difficult it can be to accept change canonical: https://time.com/4313640/bathroom-bills-transgender-loretta-lynch/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-01T17:36:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:10:28.403Z article:section: Politics og:title: Attorney General Says Bathroom Bills Show 'Change Is Difficult' og:description: North Carolina's law prohibits people from using bathrooms other than those that match their gender at birth og:url: https://time.com/4313640/bathroom-bills-transgender-loretta-lynch/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf4fb3e3d94fc2c3a/698891550b72e3658d6e928c/loretta-lynch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Loretta Lynch og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Attorney General Says Bathroom Bills Show 'Change Is Difficult' twitter:description: North Carolina's law prohibits people from using bathrooms other than those that match their gender at birth twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf4fb3e3d94fc2c3a/698891550b72e3658d6e928c/loretta-lynch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Attorney General Says Bathroom Bills Show 'Change Is Difficult' > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 1, 2016 5:36 PM UTC  Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks during an event to highlight policies that aim to reduce barriers for formerly incarcerated individuals in Mobile, Ala., on April 29, 2016. Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks during an event to highlight policies that aim to reduce barriers for formerly incarcerated individuals in Mobile, Ala., on April 29, 2016. Evan Vucci—AP by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 1, 2016 5:36 PM UTC Attorney General Loretta Lynch said this week that North Carolina’s controversial new law governing transgender bathroom access shows how difficult it can be to accept social change. “I think it’s a symbol of the fact that a lot of people do find change difficult,” Lynch told TIME on Friday. “They find new ideas and change hard and they will often have a reaction to it that isn’t the one that we hope that they would have, that isn’t the choice of fairness and inclusion. It’s one based on misunderstanding.” The law, which passed earlier this year and prohibits people from using bathrooms other than those that match their gender at birth, has sparked widespread protest. Cities have prohibited public employees from traveling to the state. The United Kingdom issued a travel warning to citizens because of it. The law, and others like it, has even become a hot topic on the 2016 campaign trail. While visiting London, President Obama said laws targeting transgender people are [“wrong” and “should be overturned.”](http://time.com/4305058/barack-obama-lgbt-north-carolina-mississippi/) Several of his departments, including Housing and Urban Development and Education, are [working with the Department of Justice to consider whether federal funding](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/02/us/politics/north-carolina-anti-discrimination-law-obama-federal-funds.html?%5Fr=0) should be pulled from the state in response. In the conversation with TIME, Lynch said the Justice Department is keeping a careful eye on the actions of the state. The North Carolina legislature returned for a work session last week, and several groups have sent letters to the governor urging its repeal. Gov. Pat McCrory, however, defended the bill on [the _Kelly File_. ](https://www.yahoo.com/news/nc-gov-pat-mccrory-defends-hb2-i-cant-believe-161442832.html) “We’re obviously looking to see what that bill will look like in the end, will that bill exist in the end so right now we’re monitoring that situation,” Lynch said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4313640/bathroom-bills-transgender-loretta-lynch/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4313640/bathroom-bills-transgender-loretta-lynch/"},"headline":"Attorney General Says Bathroom Bills Show 'Change Is Difficult'","datePublished":"2016-05-01T17:36:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:10:28.403Z","description":"North Carolina's law prohibits people from using bathrooms other than those that match their gender at birth","url":"https://time.com/4313640/bathroom-bills-transgender-loretta-lynch/","keywords":["LGBT","Department of Justice","justice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf4fb3e3d94fc2c3a/698891550b72e3658d6e928c/loretta-lynch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf4fb3e3d94fc2c3a/698891550b72e3658d6e928c/loretta-lynch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Loretta Lynch","caption":"Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks during an event to highlight policies that aim to reduce barriers for formerly incarcerated individuals, on Friday, April 29, 2016, in Mobile, Ala. 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