US Supreme Court Strongly Forbids Discrimination Against LGBTQ+ Employees

A historic milestone has been achieved by the LGBTQ+ community who are fighting for their civil rights as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that employers are forbidden from firing employees based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

According to a report, a landmark 1964 civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, natural origin and sex was found to be a watershed ruling that also protects employees belonging to the LGBTQ+ umbrella gender classification.

Although, he was not joined by his conservative allies, the six-to-three verdict was led by Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch -- a profoundly conservative jurist appointed by President Trump. He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and four of the court's liberals, to wit: Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.

The decision interpreted the meaning of the word "sex" of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which said that job discrimination based on it is illegal. It ruled that the sex-based protections in the provision "necessarily entails" and encompasses a person's sexual orientation and gender identity by consequence.

Although the authors of the Civil Rights Act may not have anticipated the consequences of their work, the court said that this cannot be a reason to ignore what the law demands.

The hearing took into account three cases involving members of the LGBTQ+ community. The first case tells the story of two employees who were fired because they were gay. This impacted them economically as they consequently lost their livelihood and medical insurances.

The second case involved the now-deceased Donald Zarda who was fired from his job as a skydiving instructor in New York after he had told a customer he was gay to make her more comfortable while being strapped.

The third case told the story of Aimee Stephens who was a funeral director for six years. Stephens was fired two weeks after she told her boss that she was transgender. Earlier this year, she had passed on before her case could even reach court. On behalf of Stephens, the American Civil Liberties Union concedes that the decision was indeed a remarkable one and a "huge win" for LGBTQ+ rights activists.

It is worth noting that half the states in the U.S. have no legal protection for those who are experiencing workplace discrimination based on orientation. In effect, the said ruling has received the respects and praises of LGBTQ+ members and supporters alike who have recently polled that firing someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity should be illegal.