North Carolina recently passed an anti-transgender bathroom law on March 23, limiting transgender individuals to use public bathrooms corresponding to only their birth gender.

With the recent inauguration of the law, controversy has risen on the topic of whether or not the state has gone too far in discriminating against the LGBT community. Many people who are against the anti-transgender bathroom law have labeled this the “the most anti-LGBT bill in the country,” according to ABC News.

“This law is just a waste of time and energy that can be used for other things,” David Roman (10) said. “They’re probably thinking that trans people look like they’re cross dressing, which is really not how that works; it’s really an inconvenience to them because they just want to use the bathroom.”

The North Carolina General Assembly went into special session with North Carolina’s governor Pat McCrory on March 23 to pass the law in response to earlier events that had challenged their views.

A significant issue supporters of the anti-transgender law are concerned about is the fact that abuse and rape could increase if transgender individuals were allowed in bathrooms of the sex they identify as.

“It’s highly offensive to the LGBT community because it’s putting transgender folks in the category of child molesters; the concerns are that males will dress up as women and use kids,” Spanish teacher and adviser of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance Abel Olivas said. “It’s seems to imply that we’ll have to worry about trans people; it’s not mostly about them, it’s about other people who will abuse it.”

Since transgender activism has become popular in recent years, many advocates for equality for the LGBT community have spoken out about this topic.

“Stay strong,” American actress, television star and LGBT advocate Laverne Cox said in a tweet on March 24. “This law is clearly unconstitutional and will not survive a court challenge. Let’s let this mobilize us.”

Caitlyn Jenner, who had recently gone through her gender transition from male to female, had previously urged individuals to turn down the bill. After seeing it passed through, she has voiced her opposition to the bill on various social media platforms.

“The bigger picture is on the other side; it’s about the youth,” Jenner said in an interview with with the New York Times. “Kids who are going to school have a bigger risk. Suicide rate is nine times higher for these young kids; these kids are getting bullied, especially online bullying.”

As of April 5, Paypal, who had originally planned to further expand into North Carolina, has cancelled its plans to launch its global operations center in Charlotte. As a consequence, North Carolina has lost 400 future jobs from PayPal.

“I think if there are enough [companies], and if the economy begins to suffer in those states, it does make a difference,” Olivas said. “It has worked in some states, costing them that money; it has made politicians change and modify their laws.”

Other states have been engaging in similar activities against transgender individuals. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed the Religious Freedom Bill into law on April 5, dictating that members of the religious community can decline services to LGBT individuals.

“The legislation is designed in the most targeted manner possible to prevent government interference in the lives of the people from which all power to the state is derived,” Bryant said in a Twitter statement.

Similarly to the North Carolina anti-transgender law, Mississippi has received backlash for its actions.

South Carolina currently has a bill, not a law, laying out much the same restrictions; a similar bill has been proposed in other states, including Tennessee and Virginia, but has failed to be passed through.