The new law strips cities of the power to pass their own anti-discrimination laws in a move one rights group called ‘an undisguised attack on LGBT people’

Rights groups are considering legal action against North Carolina after the government adopted a law that critics say effectively sanctions the discrimination of LGBT people.

On Wednesday night, Governor Pat McCrory signed into law a bill that blocks cities and counties from passing their own anti-discrimination laws, on the same day it was introduced into the state’s general assembly by Republican legislators.

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“It flies in the face of democracy” said Mike Meno, a spokesperson for the ACLU of North Carolina, which is actively looking into a legal challenge against the state with a coalition of rights groups.

“They essentially said it’s okay to discriminate against LGBT people, to turn them away from businesses, to fire them because of who they are or who they love – and that is not a North Carolina that a lot of people recognize or want to live in,” said Meno. “This is something that was done by extremists in the legislature who are out of step with many communities across our state.“

As same-sex marriage bans fell across the US in the last several years – culminating with a nationwide lifting of all remaining bans last year – state lawmakers unveiled legislation to extend protections for LGBT people, or in conservative governments, to block such safeguards.

The flashpoint came in Indiana, which drew nationwide backlash for a religious freedom bill that people said permitted discrimination against LGBT people. Amid public pressure, and threats from major Indiana businesses, the governor approved changes to the bill’s language that said it would not authorize discrimination against anyone.

But by shuttling through the bill in one day, North Carolina lawmakers evaded the furor Indiana experienced, despite the state’s law being substantially more restrictive than Indiana’s.

Senate Democrats voiced their opposition to the bill, which was not made public until Wednesday morning, by walking out of the chamber in protest during the vote.

“We witnessed an affront to democracy,” said Democratic senator Dan Blue, the minority leader. “We will not be silent.”

Lawmakers signaled that they were looking into such legislation after the state’s largest city, Charlotte, passed a law to expand its LGBT protections in February. Among the protections was a provision that would allow transgender people to use bathrooms that conform to their gender identity, the crux of the Republican government’s criticism in introducing the discrimination provision.

It was set to go into effect on 1 April, but was stopped on Wednesday in the special session, which lieutenant governor Dan Forest called on Tuesday afternoon.

“The manner in which they did it – calling a $42,000 special session, not releasing the bill until the morning it was to be considered, allowing hardly any public debate, limiting public comment and then forcing this piece of legislation through in just 12 hours, between when the first committee met in the morning and when the governor signed it at night – is truly breathtaking for such an extreme measure,” said Meno.

Governor McCrory’s office on Wednesday heralded the government for taking “action to ensure privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms”.

“The basic expectation of privacy in the most personal of settings, a restroom or locker room, for each gender was violated by government overreach and intrusion by the mayor and city council of Charlotte,” McCrory said in a statement. “This radical breach of trust and security under the false argument of equal access not only impacts the citizens of Charlotte but people who come to Charlotte to work, visit or play.”

Pat McCrory (@PatMcCroryNC) I signed bipartisan legislation to stop the breach of basic privacy and etiquette, ensure privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms.

The new law allows local governments to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity. And all public schools, government agencies and public college campuses will be required to designate that bathrooms and locker rooms are only to be used by people based on their biological sex.

The state’s anti-discrimination laws still apply to people based on race, color, national origin and gender.

But with the bill’s quick passing, questions have emerged about how it will affect businesses and public education, which under Title XI, prohibits discrimination based on sex in programs that receive federal funding.

“While we will always follow state and federal laws, I don’t believe this new law reflects the spirit of equality and inclusiveness found on our campus,” said University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chancellor Carol Folt at a board of trustee’s meeting on Thursday morning.

“We care deeply about and support the values of our LGBTQ community and will continue to work hard to find ways to accommodate the needs of all our students, faculty and staff as well as visitors to our campus,” Folt said.

The ACLU of North Carolina is exploring legal challenges against the state with ACLU national, Lambda Legal and Equality North Carolina.

The civil liberties groups said they would also be available for people in the state who experience discrimination and are interested in seeking legal help.

“HB 2 is an undisguised attack on LGBT people and the efforts of one city to protect gay and transgender North Carolinians against discrimination,” said Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC, in a statement. “This cruel and insulting bill is about more than bathroom access, it’s about fairness in employment, education, and local governance.”

Meanwhile, there is an existing legal challenge against a North Carolina law that allows officials opt out of presiding over same-sex marriages, which were made legal in the state in 2012, three years before same-sex marriage became legal nationwide.