If you aren’t aware of what is currently going on with the Supreme Court, whether the Civil Rights Act protects LGBTQ workers, then let me get you all caught up.
Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court struggled to decide whether the 1964 civil rights law prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. Unfortunately, discrimination towards LGBTQ employees is legal in the majority of the nation. According to CNN, “The justices rule could have critical implications for the LGBTQ community made up of approximately 1 million workers who identify as transgender and 7.1 million lesbian, gay and bisexual workers, according to UCLA’s Williams Institute.”
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex as well as gender, race, color, national origin and religion, explained BBC news. The Supreme Court justices were divided on whether Title VII protects LGBTQ workers. If the court applies the law, Title VII, then it would finally allow the millions of LGBTQ employees the basic rights that we have taken for granted for years. At the end of the session, Justice Sonia asked “At what point does a court continue to permit invidious discrimination,” she asked and added “we can’t deny that homosexuals are being fired merely for being who they are” and that “they are still being beaten, they are still being ostracized.”
It is disappointing to see the major confusion that the judicial system is having with this case. I wanted to write about this because it is something that everyone needs to be aware of, whether they have a positive or negative opinion towards the trial. It is 2019, and the fact that we still live in a world where people can be fired for simply being themselves, is disgusting. There are a lot of room for improvement, obviously, but this would be a major step forward in the world. The Supreme Court has not come to a final decision, but hopefully they can give members of the LGBTQ the basic human rights they deserve.