Trump's Republican Admin Asked Supreme Court To Legalize Firing Workers For Being Transgender

Republicans are working very hard to legalize anti-transgender discrimination by telling the Supreme Court that federal law allows firing workers solely for being transgender.

The Trump administration on Friday [8/16/19] took one of its most aggressive steps yet to legalize anti-transgender discrimination by telling the Supreme Court that federal law allows firing workers solely for being transgender, arguing a Michigan funeral home could fire a transgender woman because she wanted to wear women’s clothing on the job.

...the administration... had previously said firing workers on the basis of gender identity is legal under federal law.... the latest court filing asks the nation’s top court to establish federal case law in a potentially sweeping setback for LGBTQ rights nationwide.

To be clear: the Republican Trump administration told Supreme Court it's legal to discriminate against workers for being gay, lesbian, or bisexual, saying Title VII of Civil Rights Act 1964 cannot apply to sexual orientation.

A Supreme Court ruling in favor of the administration’s position could set off cascading ramifications for LGBTQ Americans by asserting that laws banning sex-based discrimination must be construed narrowly, and it would have no application for sexual orientation or gender identity — a decision that would likely overflow far beyond workplaces.

No federal law explicitly bans anti-LGBTQ discrimination, but the term “sex” appears in countless state and federal laws, and various policies, that ban discrimination. They have often been used by courts and agencies to protect LGBTQ people in a range of settings — from jobs and schools to doctor’s offices — and a Supreme Court ruling that finds sex absolutely does not protect LGBTQ people could unravel previous court rulings and narrow the meaning of policies.

Freedom means living free of discrimination because of who you are or whom you love. By arguing to legalize discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans, this administration put themselves on the wrong side of history—and our values. As president, I'll sign the Equality Act into law.

The administration’s argument against LGBTQ rights matches the advocacy of conservative Christian groups, which claim Congress only intended to ban discrimination because someone is male or female.... The counterargument from LGBTQ advocates and several lower courts, however, is that the intent of lawmakers does not limit a law’s reach, but rather its meaning is defined by the statute’s plain text. They say anti-transgender discrimination can result from a person defying traditional sex stereotypes or because the person transitioned from one sex to another — and thus, it is inherently a type of sex discrimination.

The case at issue is one of three currently before the court about the rights of LGBTQ workers under Title VII — and the only one concerning a transgender worker.

America should always land on the side of inclusivity.

Source: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/dominicholden/trump-trans-scotus