A law that can only be described as extremely discriminatory has been passed in North Carolina, making it illegal for some people to use a public restroom they feel most comfortable with based on their gender identity.

This law, also known as HB2 or the bathroom bill, makes it illegal for anyone to enter a public restroom that does not match the gender on their birth certificates, regardless of their sexual identity. Even if a person is transgender, if they have not had their gender changed on their birth certificate after taking surgical action, they are breaking the law by entering the restroom with which they identify.

This act reverses an ordinance that had previously allowed discriminatory protection rights to be extended to those who identified as gay or transgender. People in North Carolina will now only be protected from discrimination if it has to do with race, religion, color, national origin, age, handicap or biological sex as it was assigned on their birth certificate.

Individual cities can no longer make their own decision on how public restrooms will be handled; it is illegal no matter where you go. The only way to get around this bill is if one belongs to a private company or university, at which point they can create their own rules by which everyone at that company or university must abide.

This law is taking the United States back to the time of segregation, when the color of your skin determined whether you were allowed to use a drinking fountain or not. Telling people who they can or cannot be is not the job of the government. HB2 tells anyone who identifies as a gender different from what is written on their birth certificate that they are wrong for feeling that way, which is not the job of the government. The government exists to protect and guide its people, not try to squish everyone into one mold to produce a cookie-cutter population.

Unsurprisingly, the nation was taken aback by this law and has been protesting its passing.

Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas have canceled their “Future Now Tour” stops in North Carolina because it is clear that the state is not looking toward the future after the passing of this law. Other stars such as Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters and Ringo Starr have also boycotted the state.

The LGBT community has been making great strides toward acceptance in recent years but the only thing BH2 does is make discrimination legal again, and that is not something this nation can ignore.