SCOTUS Appears Divided
Over LGBTQ Civil Rights Case The U.S. Supreme Court heard
arguments in three cases on Tuesday
that challenge the wording of
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The federal law bans
employment discrimination on the
basis of race, religion, sex and national origin. At issue is whether or not the
word "sex" in the law should also
include sexual orientation and
those who are transgender. Currently, it is legal for employers
to fire members of the LGBTQ community —
based merely on their LGBTQ identification —
in more than half of all states. It seemed clear that the
four liberal justices are in favor
of expanding the meaning of
the language of Title VII. Justice Sotomayor, via 'USA Today' In their arguments,
the conservative justices
seemed opposed to
expanding the meaning. Justice Alito, via 'USA Today' President Donald Trump's
Supreme Court appointee, Justice
Gorsuch, seemed to indicate that he
believed the matter was one for Congress. Trump's newest appointee,
Justice Kavanaugh, was mostly
silent during the arguments. The Trump administration
is in favor of no expansion
of the meaning of Title VII. Nearly 11 million people living
in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ. The Court's decision on the
three cases will likely be
made public in 2020.