FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, June 18, 2020
Contact: Logan Smith, [email protected], 202-709-8825
Bend the Arc statement on SCOTUS ruling on LGBTQ protections
We must continue fighting in the courts, in the legislature, and at the ballot box to ban anti-LGBTQ discrimination in all sectors of American life
WASHINGTON, DC -- Bend the Arc: Jewish Action released the following statement on Monday in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County Georgia that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects LGBTQ employees from discrimination:
“This is an overdue victory in the fight to end anti-LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace, but there is still much to be done,” said Stosh Cotler, CEO of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action. “Bend the Arc is proud to have joined our partners in the civil rights community in a legal brief urging the court to protect workers, and we will keep fighting, including for the passage of the Equailty Act, until our LGBTQ family can live without fear of discrimination in all parts of life.”
“Although we celebrate this leap forward, we recognize that our nation has much to do to dismantle both legal and cultural systems of racism and discrimination, and this decision came too late to bring justice to two of the plaintiffs who passed away before the ruling,” added Cotler. “Even with today’s decision, Black LGBTQ people will still face disproportionate discrimination across their lives, and LGBTQ people still face discrimination on multiple fronts. Just days ago, the Trump administration made it easier for trans and gender-nonconforming people to be denied medical care because of their identity. We must stay vigilant against any attempts to undermine today’s decision. We must continue fighting in the courts, in the legislature, and at the ballot box to ban anti-LGBTQ discrimination in other sectors of American life besides employment, such as health care, housing, and education. And we must remember that the fight for LGBTQ rights must include fighting for Black Trans liberation, including justice for Tony McDade, Nina Pop, Dominique Fells, Riah Milton, and Layleen Polanco.”
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