Supreme Court Should Affirm LGBTQ Rights, Says Americans United

The U.S. Supreme Court today accepted three major cases that deal with the employment rights of LGBTQ Americans.

Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United, issued the following statement:

“Much of the bias that LGBTQ people experience on a daily basis is rooted in fundamentalist views of religion. But in our richly diverse nation, our shared secular laws are what must continue to govern – without special privileges or exceptions for some religious groups.

“In order for America to live up to its promise of liberty, equality and church-state separation, we must not allow religious freedom to be weaponized to license harm to others. Through these cases, the Supreme Court has an opportunity to make it clear that LGBTQ Americans cannot be mistreated because their existence offends some people’s religious beliefs.

“The Supreme Court should make it abundantly clear that no one’s rights in America hinge on someone else’s religious views.”

The cases are Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga., and Altitude Express v. Zarda, which the court consolidated for joint argument, and R.G. & G.R. Funeral Homes v. EEOC.

Americans United filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of 76 faith leaders and 13 religious and civil-rights organizations in the R.G. & G.R. Funeral Homes case, arguing that a Michigan funeral home owner should not be able to cite his religious beliefs as justification to fire a transgender employee.