LGBTQ groups from New York have organized “a national action with a civil disobedience component” outside of the Supreme Court building on October 8th to protest a case that could affect LGBT Americans, according to NY Daily News.
Housing Works, the organizer of the protest, said in a statement that the purpose of this action is to bring attention to the way that the Supreme Court has the power to legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people because, on October 8th, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for three cases pertaining to discrimination against LGBT employees.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 implies that sexual orientation is protected under the act but the Trump administration does not believe that to be the case and filed a brief with the Supreme Court.
Chase Strangio, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, said that the day of the hearings is “one of the biggest days in LGBTQ legal history.” This is unfortunately true as the Supreme Court justices can literally decide whether or not people can be fired for simply being LGBT, potentially setting a dangerous precedent that could spell disaster for generations to come.
Unfortunately things have been pretty rocky for LGBTQ rights in this country as the current administration continually sides with anti-LGBTQ groups but it’s refreshing to know that so many people are willing to fight against something so powerful as the Supreme Court. Will this make a difference or will nothing change? I’m hoping that it’s the former.
Source: NY Daily News