On October 8, LGBTQ advocates gathered outside the Supreme Court as it heard oral arguments for three cases in which it will decide whether employers can fire employees for being LGBTQ.
The cases under consideration are debating whether sex discrimination protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects workers from discrimination on the basis of sex and other protected categories, also bar discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Extreme anti-LGBTQ group Alliance Defending Freedom is representing a funeral home owner in one of the cases, Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC, who fired employee Aimee Stephens after she came out as trans.
LGBTQ advocates gathered outside the high court in support of LGBTQ workers and talked about the importance of media coverage that includes and highlights queer, and particularly trans, folks. They also spoke about the importance of visibility at a time when there is an epidemic of violence against Black trans women and when the Trump-Pence administration is dismantling protections for LGBTQ people.