An overwhelming number of Americans are actually in favour of workplace protections for LGBT people
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 08: Protesters rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as arguments are heard in a set of cases concerning the rights of LGBT people in the workforce, on October 8, 2019 in Washington, DC. The cases before the Court are expected to provide the first indication of how it will approach LGBTQI rights since two appointees of President Trump, Justices Neil M. Gorsuch, and Brett M. Kavanaugh joined the bench. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
The vast bulk of Americans are actually in favour of workplace protections for LGBT+ folk, a rather reassuring poll found as the very topic is hashed out in the Supreme Court.
Published by Marquette Law School, the survey gauged public opinion on an array of issues all currently being debated in the courts.
Pollsters were asked if the court should “decide that laws prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sex also apply to discrimination based on sexual orientation of gay, lesbian, or transgender individuals.”
And while the Trump Administration fights against it, around 61 percent of respondents said they would actually be in favour of such a decision, with 39 percent strongly favouring.
Even with how the court cases could impact religious freedoms, Americans favour LGBT+ employment protections.
Moreover, when the question was re-phrased to sway religious freedoms over LGBT+ rights, the pollsters remained unperturbed.
When asked should the court “decide that a business owner’s religious beliefs or free speech rights can justify refusing some services to gay people”, 57 percent opposed the statement.
A giant trans flag outside the US Supreme Court as a community response to the landmark Supreme Court hearings that could legalise workplace discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
While four in 10 strongly opposed.
Across the States, the survey showed that many hold centre left-leaning views on banning assault-style rifles while also advocating the right to own a gun.
Moreover, most don’t want Roe V. Wade – the landmark call to enshrine women with the right to have an abortion without excessive government interference – to be overturned.
Supreme Court case 101.
The top court in the States earlier this month opened a new term studded with three major cases that could define the trajectory of LGBT+ rights.
Justices heard two hours of argument on the blockbuster question of whether a landmark federal civil rights law can protect LGBT+ people from discrimination.
How the justices sway on the matter could boldly cement the States as a safe haven for LGBT+ workers, or rattle its foundation as a nation of freedoms and opportunity altogether.
In 28 US states, job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is lawful.
Lawyers involved in the three cases have stressed just how much the judgements will affect everyone.
“To roll back protections for LGBTQ people under law, necessitates the narrowing of sex discrimination law altogether,” wrote trans ACLU attorney Chase Strangio this month.
“And if the employers and the Trump administration win the day, it won’t just be trans people who find ourselves outside the law.
He explained: “Ceding to the administration or the employers to define the contours of permissible roles and expressions for men and women in the workplace will lead to disastrous results for all of us.”
