“The Equality Act provides critical and comprehensive protections for LGBTQ people, while simultaneously ensuring that religious freedom cannot be misused to create loopholes that would ultimately undermine these protections," said AU President and CEO Rachel Laser.

“We applaud today's ruling, which allows us to continue the fight against President Trump’s Muslim Ban—a cruel and divisive policy that is harming our clients and countless other Muslims in America by separating families and fueling anti-Muslim violence,” said AU Associate Legal Director Alex J. Luchenitser.

“This is the Trump administration’s most dangerous attempt yet to weaponize religious freedom, and we won’t stand for it,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United. “The Denial of Care Rule condones discrimination by health care workers – our trusted medical professionals on whom we rely in our most vulnerable moments."

“UCSF Health is a public institution that cannot enter into an agreement that requires its employees or students to abide by any particular religious beliefs. That is a fundamental violation of religious freedom,” said Richard B. Katskee, AU’s legal director.

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.