Target said its restrooms and dressing rooms will be open to transgender employees and customers based on their gender identity.

The City of Oxford Tuesday passed an ordinance making it illegal to use a public bathroom different from the gender on a person's birth certificate.

The ordinance also affects changing rooms and applies within the city limits and its police jurisdiction.

Police Chief Bill Partridge said the law, which makes the offense a misdemeanor, would be enforced like any other city ordinance, such as noise violations or public indecency.

"If somebody sees something that makes them uncomfortable, they would call the police," he said. "If the person is still there when the officer arrives, the officer has to witness the crime. Then we take down the person's information, and the person who reported it has to sign out a warrant."

According to the Anniston Star, the ordinance, which passed unanimously, would levy a $500 fine or six months jail time for violations.

Council President Steven Waits said in a statement that the ordinance came in response to Target's new restroom and changing room policies. Target has a store in the Oxford Exchange shopping center.

Last week, Target announced it would

as opposed to the gender with which they were born. The announcement set off a wave of controversy and came even as a North Carolina and Mississippi passed laws that some say are discriminatory against LGBT people.