Gorsuch Hints Vote May Be In Play As Rest Of Supreme Court Divides Along Ideological Lines Over LGBTQ Rights
The cases hinge on the debate of whether a landmark federal law forbidding sex discrimination in the workplace protects gay and transgender employees. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch repeatedly suggested that the words of Title VII may well bar employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. The question was “really close, really close.” But he added that he was worried about “the massive social upheaval” that would follow from a Supreme Court ruling saying so.
The New York Times:
Supreme Court Considers Whether Civil Rights Act Protects L.G.B.T. Workers
In a pair of exceptionally hard-fought arguments on Tuesday, the Supreme Court struggled to decide whether a landmark 1964 civil rights law bars employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. Job discrimination against gay and transgender workers is legal in much of the nation, and the wide-ranging arguments underscored the significance of what could be a momentous ruling. If the court decides that the law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, applies to many millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees across the nation, they would gain basic protections that other groups have long taken for granted. (Liptak and Peters, 10/8)
Reuters:
U.S. Supreme Court Divided On LGBT Employment Protection; Gorsuch Could Be Key
The nine justices heard two hours of high-profile arguments in three cases that could broaden LGBT rights involving three workers - two gay and one transgender - who sued after being fired by their employers, claiming unlawful discrimination. The Supreme Court has never ruled on transgender rights. The court’s four liberal justices signaled agreement toward arguments by the plaintiffs that gay and transgender workers are covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex as well as race, color, national origin and religion. (Hurley and Chung, 10/8)
The Washington Post:
Trump Nominees Could Play Pivotal Role As Supreme Court Decides On Protections For Gay, Transgender Workers
The Supreme Court appeared divided Tuesday about whether federal discrimination laws protect gay and transgender workers, and President Trump’s appointments to the court could play the pivotal roles in deciding the outcome. (Barnes and Marimow, 10/8)
USA Today:
Gay Rights: Supreme Court Divided In LGBT Job Discrimination Case
The court's four liberal justices forcefully denounced the firings of two gay men and a transgender woman from Georgia, New York and Michigan and made clear they believe all three should be protected by the statutory ban on sex discrimination. "We can't deny that homosexuals are being fired merely for being who they are and not because of religious reasons, not because they are performing their jobs poorly," Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, calling it "invidious behavior." ... Gorsuch said sex was at least "in play," an acknowledgment that the gay and transgender workers claiming sex discrimination have a reasonable argument. What he did not say: that the courts should fix it. Instead, Gorsuch said the "massive social upheaval that would be entailed in such a decision" in the fired workers' favor points more toward Congress. "It's a question of judicial modesty," he said. (Wolf, 10/8)
Detroit Free Press:
Michigan Case Has US Supreme Court Justices Struggling With Transgender Issues
Hearing the case of a transgender woman from Redford on Tuesday morning, several U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed to struggle to find a way to balance precedents against using sex stereotypes while maintaining separate gender-based rules for bathrooms, dress codes and programs meant to ensure equality. "There are other women ... who would feel intruded upon if someone who still had male characteristics walked into their bathroom," Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, questioning how the rights of non-transgender women could be balanced with those of transgender women. "The hard question is, how do we deal with that?" (Spangler, 10/8)
Vox:
The Supreme Court Is Finally Taking On Trans Rights. Here’s The Woman Who Started It All.
“I found it a little overwhelming when I realized that I could be in the history books,” Aimee Stephens told me Monday morning. I’d just asked her how she felt about bringing the first transgender rights case to the Supreme Court. “Somebody’s gotta do it and I’d be happy and satisfied to be that person.” (Burns, 10/7)
