In a surprising ruling, on Monday, June 15, the Supreme Court voted 6-3, ruling that workplace discrimination against LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex) people is unconstitutional. Up until this decision, it was legal to discriminate against LGBTQI people on the job in 29 states in the country! This decision included votes by conservative Justices John Roberts and Neil Gorsuch. Gorsuch opposes LGBTQI rights and was appointed by Trump himself!
While Trump has pushed at every lever and button to violate people’s rights, we still see people within the government who don’t simply follow Trump’s orders. Gorsuch and Roberts see themselves as civil servants first, in spite of their commitment to right wing ideals. It isn’t that they don’t agree with Trump, the problem is that they can’t find a way to uphold his order based on the language of the law. The right-wing majority of the Supreme Court is only waiting for a legally acceptable way to overturn gay rights and women’s rights.
The fact that the civil rights of any person, gay or straight, black or white, are up for debate is unacceptable. LGBTQI rights, just like any civil rights, were not won by the Supreme Court. To defend and secure these rights we need to rely on our own forces.
featured image credit: Wikimedia Commons
