In a watershed moment for LGBTQI+ rights in the United States, the country's Supreme Court has ruled that employers can .
The conservative-majority court ruled 6-3 that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlaws discrimination against workers due to their sex also covers sexual orientation and transgender status.
Two conservative justices, including Neil Gorsuch, the first justice appointed by Donald Trump after becoming president, joined the court’s four liberal justices in the decision.
LGBTQI+ supporters in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019, in Washington. Source: AP
Why is the ruling significant?
It is widely seen as the biggest moment for LGBTQI+ rights in the US since the Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriage in 2015.
The ruling also came in the middle of Pride Month and just days after the Trump administration moved to .
David Smith, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre, said the decision has “rewritten the book”.
“In recent years, government agencies and other courts around the US protected LGBTQI+ employees in the workplace, but it’s the first time the Supreme Court has done so. This will lead to the law changing for the whole country,” he told SBS News.
Dr Smith said the ruling would likely prove to be “even more significant” than the legalisation of same-sex marriage.
“Outlawing workplace discrimination has been at the heart of the gay rights movement for decades,” he said.
“It was something the gay rights campaigners wanted decades before same-sex marriage was even a possibility. Even as all of this other progress has been made on gay rights, workplace discrimination was still rife.”
Why has it taken so long?
Workplace bias against gay and transgender employees has been legal in much of the US, with more than half of all states (28) lacking comprehensive measures against employment discrimination.
In Australia, the Sex Discrimination Act was amended in 2013 to introduce new workplace protections from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status.
Dr Smith said gender and sexuality-based reforms often come after other kinds.
“If you look at the way anti-discrimination laws have developed anywhere, including Australia, often laws around race are developed first. Sex or gender doesn’t come until later,” he said.
“In a lot of conservative US states such as Texas, where homosexual sex was illegal until 2003, they’re not going to prioritise anti-LGBT+ workplace discrimination laws.
A rainbow flag and a US flag are displayed together on the steps of the Sacramento LGBT Community Center in 2015. Source: AP
“And in the US, there’s also such a libertarian ideology where even people who are against discrimination often claim they should be allowed to run a private business in whatever way they want.”
What reaction has there been?
Donna Stephens, the wife of plaintiff Aimee Stephens who died last month, hailed her late partner's struggle for justice after being sacked by a Detroit funeral parlour when they came out as transgender.
"For the last seven years of Aimee's life, she rose as a leader who fought against discrimination against transgender people, starting when she was fired for coming out as a woman, despite her recent promotion at the time,” she said in a statement.
"I am grateful for this victory to honour the legacy of Aimee, and to ensure people are treated fairly regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity."
Former president Barack Obama also praised Monday’s ruling.
In this Oct. 8, 2019 file photo, Aimee Stephens, center, and her wife Donna Stephens, in pink, listen during a news conference outside the Supreme Court Source: AP
“Today reminds us that progress might be slow,” he posted on Twitter. “It might take decades. But no matter what things might look like today, it’s always possible.”
Mr Obama’s vice president and the presumptive Democratic nominee in the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden, said the ruling was "a momentous step forward for our country”.
Mr Trump did not say much about the ruling immediately afterwards, only describing it as “surprising” and “very powerful”.
“I’ve read the decision and some people were surprised. But they’ve ruled and we live with that decision. That’s what it’s all about. We live with the decision of the Supreme Court. Very powerful,” he told reporters outside the White House.
The ruling has prompted LGBTQI+ advocates in Australia to renew calls for the government to ditch its , which has been put on hold for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.
"The US Supreme Court has sent a clear message to the Morrison Government that enacting stronger discrimination protections for LGBTIQ people is the right thing to do, regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum," Just.equal spokesperson Rodney Croome said.
What does the ruling mean for Donald Trump?
Dr Smith said the ruling could seriously hinder Mr Trump’s re-election.
Supported by evangelical Christian voters, Mr Trump and his administration have taken various actions against LGBTQI+ rights - including banning most transgender people from the military and rescinding protections on bathroom access for transgender students in public schools - since taking office in 2017.
Dr Smith said Mr Trump, who is currently trailing in the polls, could lose some key support at the upcoming election.
“These conservative Christians have just seen this supposedly conservative Supreme Court knock down one of the key issues they care about, their rights to discriminate in private businesses, so some of them might start to question what the point of voting for Trump is,” he said.
“It’s not what most of them will be thinking, but even if a few voters do think that, it could make it very, very hard for him to win re-election. As it did in 2016, his election is going to be won on very narrow margins.”
Dr Smith said Mr Trump’s politics since taking office has been aimed at mobilising conservative and Christian supporters.
US President Donald Trump holds a Bible outside St. John's Church across Lafayette Park from the White House on June 1. Source: AP
“Even as recently as a few weeks ago, , that was aimed at exactly this group,” he said.
“Losing this group makes it a lot harder to win re-election. The Supreme Court may have just made his job just that bit harder today.”
