(ChurchLeaders) In a decision that has troubled faith leaders, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that, based on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers may not discriminate against employees because of sexual orientation or gender identity. One surprising aspect of the ruling was that Trump appointee Neil M. Gorsuch sided with the court’s liberal justices.
“Today, we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender,” said Gorsuch, writing for the majority. “The answer is clear. An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”