The Michigan state legislature is attempting to join North Carolina in passing a bill that would require transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds with the sex listed on their birth certificate. State Sen. Tom Casperson (R–Escanaba) is sponsoring the bill and is firmly set on legalizing it despite the apparent obstacles and media firestorm North Carolina is facing.

North Carolina, the first state to successfully restrict which public bathrooms and locker rooms transgender people use, sparked headline news and strong opposition from LGBTQ rights advocates, and the state is currently facing many legal battles regarding the bill. LGBTQ rights advocates filed a lawsuit against the law’s legality, and the federal government ordered North Carolina to abolish the law as it violates federal civil rights, leading to a lawsuit against North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) by the Department of Justice.

Despite President Barack Obama cutting billions of dollars in federal aid from North Carolina, Casperson will continue to advocate for the bill and wishes to stop children from sharing a bathroom with others who are “biologically different.” Casperson decided to introduce the bill after discovering that the State Board of Education stated in a proposed reccomendation that public schools should allow transgender students to use the bathrooms with which they identify, as well as being referred to by the pronoun of their requests.

This proposition, however, didn’t sit well with the Republicans in Lansing, including House Speaker Kevin Cotter, who also spoke out against the board’s recommendation. Cotter said in a statement that he is protecting the wishes of parents who may not have approved a gender switch concerning their child.

“Maybe there’s something there that’s just not normal,” Casperson said. “And normal’s not the right word. Maybe there’s something there that’s just not right, where we’re mixing these kids together.”

The proposed bill is already receiving backlash similar to the comments made in North Carolina. A public comment section already has 7,000 responses and comments, mostly in opposition to the measure. John Austin, president of the State Board of Education, is an active force against this bill. Austin said that the bill could violate federal civil rights and further isolate these transgender students who are already at-risk for suicide, depression and bullying.

The bill is also facing opposition from state Democrats. U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D–Mi.) released a statement condoning what he is calling the Anti-LGBT Bathroom Bill. Kildee pointed out that Casperson and other Republicans are willing to spend time and money on such a divisive issue rather than focusing attention on issues such as improving infrastructure, ensuring funding for the public schools and safe drinking water in Flint.

“Their ‘bathroom bill’ ... is discriminatory and bigoted,” Kildee said in a statement. “It seeks to divide Michiganders and deny people access to restrooms when they simply want privacy, safety and respect when using such accommodations. Michigan Republicans like Senator Casperson should spend less time bullying Michiganders and more time on the actual problems facing our state. This hateful bill flies in the face of Michigan values like dignity, equality and respect, and it should be promptly shelved and defeated.”

In an interview with the Daily, Kildee said he has started an online petition and is calling Michiganders who care about equality to speak out against this bill.

“It makes no sense ... it’s like they are searching for a way to pander to the far right by creating a problem that doesn’t exist,” Kildee said. “There is no rational law to discriminate against LGBT people. It’s an obvious political pander, and it’s destructive.”

State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D–Ann Arbor) agreed that this is political pandering attempting to appeal to extreme and-or religious conservatives. However, he is confident that the bill will never be put to a vote.

“I don’t think it will come to a vote because the leadership understands that it’s bad for the state and for them politically,” Irwin said. “People realize that this whole idea that young men are going to try and switch their gender to try and invade a woman’s locker room is just not realistic. It’s a fine soundbite, but when you start to think about it, nobody is going to do that because of the severe social stigma that they would receive.”

Summer Managing News Editor Lydia Murray contributed reporting.