The United States Department of Justice fired back at North Carolina on Monday afternoon with a lawsuit of its own after the state sued the DOJ earlier in the day. 

The DOJ is suing North Carolina over a state law passed in March that prevents transgender people from using bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. 

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said North Carolina had "created state-sponsored discrimination against transgender people," as she announced the lawsuit on Monday.

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"This is about the dignity and respect that we accord our fellow citizens," Lynch said.

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Vanita Gupta, head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, also came out swinging.

She said the law "threatens the values that define us as a people. These values are timeless. These values say to all people that you can be who you are, and you deserve to live with dignity."

The DOJ has previously said that the law violates the Civil Rights Act, and had given the state until Monday to "remedy" the legislation.

North Carolina's lawsuit stated that the DOJ was overreaching in its request, saying that the Justice Department was now making laws instead of simply enforcing them. 

The state's suit also said that the DOJ was trying to enforce a "radical reinterpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act."

North Carolina has faced an immense backlash since Gov. Pat McCrory signed the law in March.

Businesses have condemned the legislation, musicians have canceled concerts, tourism is down, and the state may still lose millions more.

Lynch also mentioned that the DOJ is "monitoring" other situations similar to the law passed in North Carolina. 

Though she didn't call out any situations by name, Mississippi recently passed legislation that many view as similarly anti-LGBT.

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