‘Work to be done,’ but Idaho advocates laud Supreme Court’s LGBTQ discrimination decision
In a historic move on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision that will protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from workplace discrimination.
Prior to the decision, Idaho was one of the states where the LGBTQ community had no discrimination protections and an employer could fire a person because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Advocates in Idaho said they felt “affirmed” by the court’s action.
The court decided in a 6-3 vote that a key provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, known as Title VII — which bars job discrimination because of sex, among other reasons — encompasses bias against LGBTQ workers.
Notably, Justice Neil Gorsuch — appointed by President Donald Trump — penned the opinion. He and Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s four liberal justices in the decision.
“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,” Gorsuch wrote for the court. “Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”
Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas — all Republican appointees — dissented.
The Supreme Court cases involved two gay men and a transgender woman who sued for employment discrimination after they lost their jobs. Aimee Stephens, Donald Zarda and Gerald Bostock were the plaintiffs.
An Idaho impact
Idaho’s Add The Words organization has repeatedly tried — unsuccessfully — to get the GOP-dominated Legislature’s approval to amend the Idaho Human Rights Act to offer protection for the LGBTQ community by including the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” Monday’s ruling was a small victory that could help their fight to gain equal rights.
Chelsea Gaona-Lincoln, chair of Add the Words, said her reaction to the decision went from shock to excitement, and then to realizing how much work remains to be done.
“We are feeling very affirmed that we were on the right side of history,” Gaona-Lincoln said.
Idaho still has no protections for LGBTQ residents when it comes to housing discrimination and public accommodations.
Gaona-Lincoln said she can’t predict what will come in the 2021 legislative session, but she fully anticipates that Add The Words will continue its efforts to change Idaho’s civil rights law, rather than just relying on federal changes.
She also noted that Add The Words supporters stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, which continues to protest nationwide regarding racial injustice and police brutality.
“All people should be able to live and thrive fully without fear of discrimination,” she said. “... We are celebrating this moment for what it is and realizing there is a lot of work to be done.”
Gaona-Lincoln, a Democrat, is challenging Republican Rep. Greg Chaney for his seat in the Idaho House in November.
Two Democratic members of the Idaho Senate issued statements after the Supreme Court’s decision.
“LGBTQ Idahoans and their friends, families, and those who cared for them breathed a long-awaited sigh of relief today,” said Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb, D-Boise. “For 14 years, Democrats have been fighting to add the words to the Idaho Human Rights Act that would protect Idahoans from discrimination in the workplace, housing and public utilities. Unfortunately, the Legislature refused time and time again to even have the conversation with us. Thankfully, the U.S. Supreme Court took up the appropriate action to look out for our citizens.”
Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, issued a similar statement.
“The U.S. Supreme Court recognizes that gender identity and sexual orientation does not impact your quality of work and does not make you deserving of discrimination,” Burgoyne said. “Being who you are and loving who you love are not reasons to be fired from your job. This is a huge step in the right direction. ... Simple justice demands that everyone be able to be who they are without fear of discrimination, hate or violence.”
The Idaho Statesman asked for comment from Gov. Brad Little’s office on Monday but did not receive a response.
Prior Idaho legislative action
The court’s decision comes as Idaho faces lawsuits regarding two anti-transgender bills that Republicans pushed through this year, and that Little signed into law. This happened in spite of the fact that an Idaho Attorney General’s Office’s analysis of the bills found them possibly unconstitutional and open to legal challenge.
One revolves around transgender people’s ability to change their birth certificate to match their gender identity. The birth certificate bill, pitched by Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, passed in direct defiance of a federal court order that allows people to change birth certificates.
The other bill bans transgender women from participating in women’s sports at public schools and universities. It was championed by Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, who dubbed it the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and argued that transgender women have an unfair advantage playing women’s sports.
The bill covering athletics would make Idaho the first state to impose an outright ban on participation by transgender athletes.
The ACLU of Idaho has filed a lawsuit against the state. The NCAA also issued a statement condemning Ehardt’s bill, possibly jeopardizing Boise State’s ability to continue as a host for first- and second-round games in the 2021 NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Many athletes have called on the NCAA to issue an Idaho ban for sanctioned events, something that happened to North Carolina when that state passed an anti-transgender bathroom bill that since has been repealed.
The NCAA Board of Governors is scheduled to discuss the legislation and its implications during its August meeting.
This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 3:35 PM.
