US Supreme Court Opposes Trump: "No Firing Due to LGBT Status"

Despite Conservative Shift in Federal Supreme Court Under Trump Administration, Progressive Rulings Continue
Sexual Minorities Also Ruled Subject to Civil Rights Act

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The United States Supreme Court has made a historic ruling that employees cannot be fired solely for being sexual minorities. This decision is seen as an unusual progressive ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, which has leaned conservative under the Donald Trump administration.

According to U.S. media such as The Wall Street Journal, on the 15th (local time), the Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, also applies to gay and transgender individuals.

Enacted in 1964, the Civil Rights Act prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on race, color, nationality, religion, as well as sex.

In this ruling, six justices voted in favor while three dissented.

The presiding justice for this ruling, Neil Gorsuch, who was appointed by President Trump and is widely regarded as strongly conservative, took a different stance this time. He stated, "An employer who fires an individual for being gay or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not question in members of a different sex," and that sex plays a role in such decisions, which is "exactly what Title VII of the Civil Rights Act forbids."

President Trump appointed conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh after taking office. As a result, the Supreme Court has a conservative majority of 5 to 4. Nevertheless, two conservatives broke ranks in this ruling. Chief Justice Roberts, appointed by former President George W. Bush, and Justice Gorsuch were the dissenters.

Of course, three conservative justices?Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas?argued in dissent that "the concept of discrimination based on sex is different from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity."

This lawsuit was filed by two gay men and one transgender woman who claimed they were discriminated against and fired due to their sexual orientation after losing their jobs.

AP News stated, "The Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, and transgender people from employment discrimination," calling it "an overwhelming victory for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights from a conservative court."

AP also reported that most states do not protect sexual minorities from workplace discrimination, adding, "This outcome will have a significant impact on approximately 8.1 million LGBT workers nationwide."

A major foreign news outlet evaluated this ruling as a watershed victory for LGBT rights. The outlet also reported that the Trump administration opposed the sexual minorities’ position in this lawsuit.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.