Target stores have no qualms with transgender customers and employees using bathrooms and fitting rooms in their stores according to their gender identity, the company announced on Tuesday.

Target - target.com

The announcement came in response to a heated national conversation around LGBT rights, sparked by recent laws passed in North Carolina and Mississippi that limit the freedoms of LGBT people.

Target highlighted inclusivity as a "core belief," and reiterated their support of the Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ban discrimination against LGBT individuals. The company released this statement:

"In our stores, we demonstrate our commitment to an inclusive experience in many ways. Most relevant for the conversations currently underway, we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity."

Laws passed in North Carolina and Mississippi, as well as those proposed in several other states, have drawn fierce criticism from LGBT and civil rights activists. A number of high profile musicians, businesses, and even porn websites, have all taken steps to protest anti-LGBT laws, saying they isolate millions of Americans, and set dangerous, discriminatory precedents for the rest of the country.

"Everyone deserves to feel like they belong," the Target news release said.