Target Corp said on Tuesday that transgender employees and customers can use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity, taking a stand on an issue at the center of a heated national debate.
The move comes after some state lawmakers have sought to enact laws seen by critics as discriminatory against transgender people.
“In our stores, we demonstrate our commitment to an inclusive experience in many ways,” Target said in a statement on its website, noting debates around proposed laws in several states. “Most relevant for the conversations currently under way, we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.”
North Carolina last month became the first state to require transgender people to use restrooms and locker rooms in schools and other public facilities that correspond with their birth gender instead of the gender with which they identify.
In Tennessee, a similar measure in the state legislature was pulled on Monday by its sponsor in the House of Representatives, Republican Susan Lynn, for further study, The Tennessean newspaper reported.
— Reporting by Nathan Layne in Chicago | Reuters