A North Carolina governor candidate has come under fire for suggesting that trans women who use women’s restrooms "will be arrested."
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) suggested that trans people should instead "find a corner outside somewhere."
Speaking at a campaign event, he said: "We’re going to defend women in this state.
"That means if you’re a man on Friday night, and all of a sudden Saturday you feel like a woman and you want to go in the women’s bathroom in the hall, you will be arrested — or whatever we got to do to you."
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) has come under fire for his stance on trans bathrooms
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At a separate event on the same day, he told a crowd: "If you are confused [about which bathroom to use], find a corner outside somewhere. I’m sorry, we’re not tearing society down because of this."
It is not the first time the 55-year-old, who has previously been endorsed by Donald Trump, has come under fire for comments he has made. WRAL reported he called the Holocaust "hogwash" in a past Facebook post that he later said was "poorly worded."
In June 2021, Robinson called the LGBT+ community "filth." When video of the comments surfaced in October of that year, North Carolina Democrats pressed him to resign, one calling him a "disgrace" and "an embarrassment" to the state.
Robinson rebuffed the pressure, saying that he was referring to sexually explicit LGBTQ books he claimed were circulating in North Carolina public schools, reports the Washington Post.
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Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R)
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Arguments over transgender rights have been taking place across the US.
In January, Ohio's Republican-dominated Senate voted to ban gender-affirming care for minors and prohibit transgender athletes from competing on girls' and women's sports teams, overriding a veto and finalizing the measures as law.
Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine had vetoed the legislation, in a break with his party, saying that he had heard from parents of transgender youth who told him gender-affirming care had been lifesaving for their children. However, Ohio's Senate on Wednesday joined the House of Representatives to override the governor's veto.
Elsewhere, the Supreme Court declined to hear an Indiana public school district's defence of a policy barring transgender students from using bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity.
Republicans in various states have pursued a wave of laws affecting transgender people including restricting bathroom access, limiting transgender participation in sports and access to gender-affirming medical care, and the teaching of subjects related to gender identity.
Federal courts have been divided on school policies requiring transgender students to use the restroom corresponding to their birth sex.
The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals found a Virginia school's policy illegal, while the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit upheld one in a Florida school.