Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Day 85


And just when it seemed that the news cycle had turned permanently sour and we'd never hear any good news ever again, it's suddenly announced that the U.S. Supreme Court has finally ruled that the protections in the Constitution apply to all Americans, regardless of gender, regardless of sexual orientation, regardless of trans- or cis- status.

Justice Neal Gorsuch, who was appointed by Trump himself, wrote the majority opinion.

As of today, nowhere in the United States is it legal to fire someone for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. 

Trump had other ideas when it came to employment, health care and civil rights protections for LGBTQ individuals, and he  has been especially focused on rolling back policies that have benefited transgender people. In doing so, he is clearly at odds with much of the  rest of the country.  Society appears to have changed on the issue far more than Trump seems to have.

“I find this to be a very sad day,” said Franklin Graham, who leads a large evangelical relief group and can reliably be counted on to spout the completely wrong, un-Christian view on matters.  “I don’t know how this is going to protect us.”

Well, news flash, you bigoted piece of the pious patriarchy - it's not about you.  Not everything out of the Supreme Court is designed to protect you and your rights, even though you are a white, hetero (I presume) male.  Some rulings are passed down to protect others from you, and this one was past due.

We still have covid-19, systematic racism, police brutality, climate change, and an economic depression to deal with, not to mention six more months of the Trump presidency.  But at least, for one bright shining moment, the rights of our LGBTQ sisters and brothers were affirmed.

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