Earlier this year on March 23rd, North Carolina’s state legislature passed a sweeping law that reversed a Charlotte ordinance that extended some rights to the LGBT community. Coined “House Bill 2” (HB2), this law includes a prohibitive measure that forces transgender people to use bathrooms according to their birth gender, not according to their own gender identity. A massive uproar has ensued, with President Obama strongly condemning the measures. And while most of the controversy has surrounded the morality of the law. One big problem with the bill remains: its cost.

HB2 will cost North Carolina nearly $5 billion dollars a year. The majority of that cost comes from the $4.7 billion in federal funding for schools and universities that North Carolina’s violation of federal laws make it ineligible for. But that’s not all. From companies like PayPal to musical acts like Maroon 5, many outside businesses and events have stopped funneling money into the state. All of this adds up to a huge amount of money that North Carolina will lose by protecting the public from a seemingly minor threat.

But does this threat even exist? Politicians who support HB2 say the controversial bill helps to protect vulnerable women and children in public restrooms. This so called “bathroom predator theory” fueled people like North Carolina governor Pat McCrory to sign onto the bill.

The costs listed above are definitely acceptable if it helps protect women and young girls from being assaulted in restrooms. Their logic, however, is completely unfounded.

HB2 does nothing to tackle the criminal status of sexual assault, which is still illegal, whether or not you’re a transgender person. The only measure that HB2 takes is to require trans people to out their true gender identity. This has nothing to do with the safety of women and young girls.

This legislation does more to harm public safety than to help it. 64% of transgender people will experience a sexual assault in their lifetime, far higher than the national average. There’s overwhelming evidence that protecting transgender people only increases public safety. This law does the exact opposite, not only stripping transgenders of their rights, but also endangering their well being. As a result, the HB2 law implies people perceive transgenders as lesser than human.

In short, by keeping HB2 in effect, North Carolina’s taxpayers will be forced to pay even more taxes for a threat that doesn’t even exist. Unfortunately, for many transgenders, institutionalized discrimination is still exists in the “Land of The Free.”