Governor Laura Kelly is pleased with the U Supreme Court’s ruling banning employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Kelly says one of her first actions as governor was to replace an executive order disallowing discrimination through state agencies.
The 6-3 ruling written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative appointed by President Donald Trump, is rooted in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin and sex. The court said “sex” is a distinct characteristic but inseparable from the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Before the decision, LGBT job discrimination was still technically legal in much of the nation. Less than half the states have laws explicitly prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas dissented in the case. All three argued that Congress, not the court, should explicitly draft protections for LGBT people.
