This is not the first time that we have seen discriminatory responses to historic moments of progress for our nation. We saw it in the Jim Crow laws following the Emancipation Proclamation. We saw it in the fierce and widespread resistance to Brown v Board of Education, and we saw it in the proliferation of state bans on same sex unions that were intended to stifle any hope that gay and lesbian Americans might one day be afforded the right to marry, and that right of course is now recognized as a guarantee embedded in our constitution. In the wake of that historic triumph we have seen bill after bill in state after state taking aim at the LGBT community.

Now some of these responses reflect a recognizably human fear of the unknown and a discomfort with the uncertainty of change, but this is not a time to act out of fear. This is a time to summon our national virtues of inclusivity, of diversity, of compassion and open mindedness and what we must not do, and we must never do is turn on our neighbors, our family members, our fellow Americans for something that they cannot control and deny what makes them human. And this is why none of us can stand by when a state enters the business of legislating identity and insist that a person pretend to be something or someone that they are not or invents a problem that does not exist as a pretext for discrimination or harassment. …

And let us reflect on the obvious but often neglected lesson that state sanctioned discrimination never looks good and never works in hindsight. It was not so very long ago that states including North Carolina had other signs above restrooms, water fountains and other public accommodations keeping people out based on a distinction without a difference. We’ve moved beyond those dark days but not without a tremendous amount of pain and suffering and an on going fight to keep moving forward.

Let us write a different story this time. Let us not act out of fear and misunderstanding but out of the values of inclusion, diversity, and regard for all that make our country great.

And let me also speak directly to the transgender community itself. Some of you have lived freely for decades and others of you are still wondering how you can possibly live the lives  you were born to live/lead, but no matter how isolated, how afraid, how alone you feel today, know this, that the department of justice, and indeed the entire Obama administration want you to know we see you, we stand with you, and we will do everything we can to protect you going forward, and please know that history is on your side. This country was founded on the promise of equal rights for all and we have always managed to move closer to that ideal little by little, day by day and it may not be easy but we will get there together.

Press Release on DoJ website

The text of the law itself

It essentially says you must use the restroom of your “biological sex” which means the sex on your birth certificate.

If you are transgender you can have your sex on your birth certificate changed with certification from a doctor after having reassignment surgery. Here are the standards for all 50 states.