1964 Civil Rights
Does the Civil Rights Act of 1964 cover gender identity and sexual orientation?
Courts have been trying to answer this question for years. Some courts, like the 6th Circuit, have said “yes”, and people like Aimee Stephens have been granted the right to work as a queer person. Others have said it’s totally legal to fire or not hire LGBTQ people under current legislation. This is the question the Supreme Court will ask the entire country starting in October when the new session starts.
The broader media like the Washington Post and New York Times when they speak on these cases, do not speak to the broader implications a case like this will have. They speak narrowly to the issue of employment. But the issue of employment as an LGBTQ person can mean life or death. Violence against trans people is a system that ends with death but begins at housing and employment protections. Last year, 24 trans people were killed in acts of hatred. It’s broader than employment. The survival of transgender people in the United States literally depends on upholding the rights of LGBTQ people in employment.
The system of violence against LGBTQ people:
LGBTQ people are legally allowed to be fired or not be hired because of their identity. They are allowed to be kicked out of housing due to their identity. They often turn to sex work and remain homeless, making them more at risk to violence due to living on the streets. “Gay Panic” is still a valid court defense (the idea that a trans woman “tricks” a straight man into sleeping with her and then the man kills her because he is scared that seeing her penis made him gay).
Sometimes when I write about this, I feel like I’m shouting into a void that people don’t listen to. I feel like people just don’t understand. I’ve talked about this so many times to so may people, and nothing changes. Trans people are still killed. At this point, I want to get mad. I want to get to mass protesting. I want to yell and scream. I want to smash my keyboard and throw my phone across the room.
Y’ALL DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE WELLBEING OF TRANS PEOPLE. THIS ISN’T ABOUT RELIGIOUS RIGHTS TO DENY CERTAIN PEOPLE BECAUSE YOU DON’T BELIEVE THEY EXIST. THIS IS ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE KILLED IN OUR COUNTRY FOR THEIR GENDER IDENTITY.
I’m scared, because it’s totally uncertain what the future of this will hold. The current Supreme Court could easily rule against LGBTQ people’s rights.
Does this give people permission to begin to discriminate more? What would happen to the laws currently in place? What would happen to ordinances that protect queer people?
I know that I’ve written more eloquently about these issues before, but I feel like the time for that level of eloquence has passed. More importantly, my emotions are running too high when I think to this to write a more coherent piece. I want people to see this emotion and I think it’s important for people to understand how scary and real this is for people.
The life expectancy of my best and closest friends is short because they are trans. The Supreme Court has the chance to make an impact on that and I’m so scared of what they’ll decide.