Texas, Other States File to Support N. Carolina Restroom Law

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Texas and a dozen other states are asking a federal judge in North Carolina to side with Republican leaders defending a law governing transgender restroom access.

The group behind the amicus brief Wednesday largely overlaps with states that won a ruling last week against Obama administration guidelines on transgender restroom access in schools.

The states also argue the North Carolina proceedings should be halted temporarily because of that ruling and a Virginia case that the U.S. Supreme Court may hear.

Meanwhile, states including New York and dozens of companies have filed amicus briefs attacking North Carolina's law.

The law requires transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates, not their gender identity, in schools and many public buildings. It also limits other statewide LGBT protections.