On MSNBC, GLAAD's Sarah Kate Ellis says LGBTQ Americans still need full protections from discrimination
Ellis: “This is employment. There's still housing issues. There's still service issues. ... There's still health care.”
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From the June 15, 2020, edition of MSNBC's MSNBC Live
SARAH KATE ELLIS (GLAAD): This is just as big as marriage equality, if not bigger, because everybody should have the right to work and not be discriminated against who they are. So, if they identify as LGBTQ, based on sexual orientation or gender identity, prior to today, you could be fired in half the states, almost half the states in America. And now, it's the law of the land. So this being said, I want to really, really point out here, though, that there is an Equality Act that is sitting on [Sen.] Mitch McConnell's desk and has been for quite a while. And that is really what the LGBTQ community needs for full protections from discrimination. This is employment. There's still housing issues. There's still service issues.
ARI MELBER (HOST): Sure.
ELLIS: There's still health care. Our health care was rolled back on Friday.
MELBER: But on this ruling, what did you also think, were you surprised to see Justice Gorsuch both join this ruling in favor of the protections and write it?
ELLIS: Absolutely. Gorsuch, Roberts, they were surprises for sure. We didn't -- we weren't optimistic about this ruling, if we are being completely honest. Just the way the world is going right now, the culture that we're living in, the Trump administration spoke loudly and proudly that they were anti this ruling, that they were not for protections for the LGBTQ community against discrimination at the workplace. So, we didn't think this was going to go in our way. So we are both surprised and thrilled.