Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 3 July 2019
Big business to Supreme Court: Defend LGBTQ people from bias

By DAVID CRARY Campaign vice president.
P National Writer "These employers know first-
NEW YORK (AP) — More hand that protecting the
than 200 corporations, in- LGBTQ community is both
cluding many of America's good for business and the
best-known companies, right thing to do."
are urging the U.S. Supreme In one of the cases head-
Court to rule that federal ing to the Supreme Court,
civil rights law bans job dis- the New York-based 2nd
crimination on the basis of U.S. Circuit Court of Ap-
sexual orientation and gen- peals ruled in favor of a
der identity. gay skydiving instructor
The corporations outlined who claimed he was fired
their stance in a legal brief because of his sexual orien-
released Tuesday by a co- tation. The appeals court
alition of five LGBTQ rights ruled that "sexual orienta-
groups. The brief is being tion discrimination is moti-
submitted to the Supreme vated, at least in part, by
Court this week ahead of sex and is thus a subset of
oral arguments before the This Oct. 4, 2018, file photo shows the U.S. Supreme Court at sunset in Washington. sex discrimination."
justices on Oct. 8 on three Associated Press The ruling was a victory for
cases that may determine the relatives of Donald Zar-
whether gays, lesbians and In their brief, the compa- Such friend-of-the-court gender people. da, now deceased, who
transgender people are nies argued that a uniform briefs are routinely submit- The question now is wheth- was fired in 2010 from a sky-
protected from discrimina- federal rule is needed to ted by interested parties er the Supreme Court will diving job that required him
tion by existing federal civil protect LGBTQ employees ahead of major Supreme follow suit, given its con- to strap himself tightly to cli-
rights laws. equally in all 50 states. Court hearings. The extent servative majority strength- ents so they could jump in
Among the 206 corpora- "Even where companies to which they might sway ened by President Donald tandem from an airplane.
tions endorsing the brief voluntarily implement poli- justices is difficult to assess, Trump's appointments of He tried to put a woman
were Amazon, American cies to prohibit sexual ori- but in this case it's an ef- Neil Gorsuch and Brett Ka- with whom he was jumping
Airlines, Bank of America, entation or gender identity fective way for the corpo- vanaugh. The three cases at ease by explaining that
Ben & Jerry's, Coca-Cola, discrimination, such poli- rations to affirm support for are the court's first on LG- he was gay. The school
Domino's Pizza, Goldman cies are not a substitute for LGBTQ employees. BTQ rights since the retire- fired Zarda after the wom-
Sachs, IBM, Microsoft, Mor- the force of law," the brief Federal appeals courts in ment last year of Justice an's boyfriend called to
gan Stanley, Nike, Star- argued. "Nor is the patch- Chicago and New York Anthony Kennedy, who au- complain.
bucks, Viacom, the Walt work of incomplete state or have ruled recently that thored landmark gay rights A second case comes from
Disney Co. and Xerox. Two local laws sufficient protec- gay and lesbian employ- opinions. Michigan, where a funeral
major league baseball tion — for example, they ees are entitled to protec- The Obama administration home fired a transgender
teams, the San Francisco cannot account for the tion from discrimination; had supported treating LG- woman. The appeals court
Giants and the Tampa cross-state mobility require- the federal appeals court BTQ discrimination claims in Cincinnati ruled that the
Bay Rays, were among the ments of the modern work- in Cincinnati has extended as sex discrimination, but firing constituted sex dis-
group. force." similar protections for trans- the Trump administration crimination under federal
has changed course. The law.
Trump Justice Department The funeral home argues
Border activist to be retried has argued that the fed- that Congress was not con-

eral Civil Rights Act of 1964 sidering transgender peo-
in case on aiding migrants was not intended to pro- ple when it included sex
vide protections to gay or discrimination in Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act. The law
transgender workers.
The companies signing the prohibits employment dis-
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A bor- hardline approach to immi- Prosecutors countered that brief represent more than crimination on the basis of
der activist will be retried gration. They say Warren's the migrants were not in 7 million employees and "race, color, religion, sex or
after a jury was unable to prosecution could deter distress when the aid was $5 trillion in annual reve- national origin."
reach a verdict on charges those trying to help border- given at a property used nue, according to the Hu- The third case is from Geor-
related to aiding migrants crossers in desperate need for helping migrants near man Rights Campaign, the gia, where the federal ap-
near Arizona's border with of water or other necessi- the border. largest of the LGBTQ rights peals court ruled against
Mexico, U.S. prosecutors ties. Warren's supporters groups organizing the ini- a gay employee of Clay-
said Tuesday. Thousands of migrants cheered him outside the tiative. Other organizers in- ton County, in the Atlanta
The government dropped have died crossing the bor- federal courthouse on cluded Lambda Legal, Out suburbs. Gerald Bostock
a conspiracy charge and der since the mid-1990s, Tuesday after prosecutors Leadership, Out and Equal, claimed he was fired in
will retry Scott Warren on when heightened enforce- announced their decision. and Freedom for All Ameri- 2013 because he is gay. The
Nov. 12 on two counts ment pushed migrant traf- The volunteer with the No cans. county argues that Bostock
of harboring migrants, fic into Arizona's scorching More Deaths humanitarian "At this critical moment in was let go because of the
said Glenn McCormick, a deserts. group thanked them and the fight for LGBTQ equali- results of a financial audit.
spokesman for the U.S. at- Warren, 36, was arrested said his case had raised the ty, these leading businesses The 11th U.S. Circuit Court
torney's office. early last year. During his public's consciousness. are sending a clear mes- of Appeals dismissed Bos-
Humanitarian groups say trial in June, defense attor- He also said his trial had sage to the Supreme Court tock's claim in an opin-
their work on the border neys argued the college led to "more volunteers that LGBTQ people should, ion noting the court was
has increasingly come un- geography instructor was who want to stand in soli- like their fellow Americans, bound by a 1979 decision
der scrutiny under the ad- just being kind by giving darity with migrants, local continue to be protected that held "discharge for ho-
ministration of President two migrants water, food residents stiffened in their from discrimination," said mosexuality is not prohib-
Donald Trump, who takes a and lodging. resistance to border walls Jay Brown, a Human Rights ited by Title VII."q