The SC Is Debating if LGBTQ People Can Be Fired for Being LGBTQ

The SC Is Debating if LGBTQ People Can Be Fired for Being LGBTQ

US top court divided as it ponders LGBT people rights

Starting at 10 AM Tuesday the Supreme Court was scheduled to begin listening to oral arguments in three landmark cases that will form the foundation of a decision determining if LGBTQ people can be fired merely for being LGBTQ. The ruling, which likely will not be handed down until June of 2020, will have far reaching implications for many Americans, whether or not they are LGBTQ.

In short, the court is expected to decide if Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans discrimination on the basis of sex, applies to people who are, identify as, or even are perceived as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender. Two combined cases center on workplace discrimination against people who are gay. One case centers on workplace discrimination against people who are transgender.

This chart simply explains if the court will decide the law agrees with this most basic and obvious argument:

As usual, there are no photos or recordings allowed inside the Court, and the Court will not even release audio of the oral arguments today.

But we can take a look at what’s going on outside the court – and it’s major. There are no official crowd estimates but it sure looks like there are thousands of LGBTQ people, allies, and supporters who showed up.

Among them, Aimee Stephens, the transgender woman at the center of one of today’s SCOTUS cases, Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC, who got some support this morning from Laverne Cox.