Transgender 'milestones' took decades; more lawsuits likely

[...] an impassioned Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the government was suing North Carolina for discriminating against transgender people.

The laws are Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination by employers, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities.

Adam P. Romero, a legal scholar at UCLA's Williams Institute, which does research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, predicted more rulings favoring the transgender community.

[...] before the late 1980s, transgender people didn't have much luck claiming civil rights protections under federal law.

Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign — the national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization — called last week's developments milestones.

Transgender rights activist Mara Keisling, executive director of the Washington-based National Center for Transgender Equality, agreed the moment was "really, really remarkable" but said the administration wouldn't have taken those actions if it weren't on solid legal ground.