Trump White House Attempts To Remove LGBTI Employment Protections

The United States Supreme Court is being urged by Trump’s Justice Department to rule in favour of removing LGBTI employment rights.

The Justice Department’s brief argues that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars sex discrimination in the workforce, shouldn’t apply to cases of anti-gay discrimination.

The 34-page brief which was signed by the U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, states that “The question here is not whether Title VII should forbid employment discrimination because of sexual orientation, but whether it already does.”

“The statute’s plain text makes clear that it does not; discrimination because of ‘sex’ forbids treating members of one sex worse than similarly situated members of the other — and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, standing alone, does not result in such treatment.”

Essentially Trump’s solicitor general argues that the 1964 Congress didn’t intend to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation with the passage of Title VII, and furthermore has failed to implement new legislation that would do so, such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act or the Equality Act.

“Congress has amended other statutes expressly to cover sexual-orientation discrimination, and it remains free to do the same with Title VII.”

“But until it does, this Court should enforce the statute as it is written.”

The solicitor general’s brief has since been condemned by employment rights groups, human rights groups and LGBTI rights groups, all of whom arguing that anti-gay discrimination is a form of sex discrimination, and question the motives of the department and their intention to remove the rights of a group of people.