The U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on Monday, June 15 to ensure workplace protection for LGBTQ+ employees came as a huge yet welcome surprise to Christopher Lee, coordinator of Rhode Island College’s LGBTQ+ and Gender office.
“This is such a major symbolic victory, especially since it comes in the midst of Pride Month,” says Lee, who has been monitoring the case since it came before the Supreme Court last fall. “Legal protections for queer and trans people in the workforce have been sought for a while, and with a conservative majority on the court it definitely wasn’t clear that this would be a positive ruling.”
Before Monday’s court decision, it was legal in more than half of the states to fire workers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Rhode Island, however, is one of 21 states that already had its own law in place prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. That law, established in 1995, was expanded in 2001 to include gender identity and expression.
“This Supreme Court ruling sends out a resounding message of equity for all community members, and for RIC it emboldens us to ensure we are committed to nondiscrimination in all forms,” says RIC Associate Vice-President for Community, Equity and Diversity (CED) Anna Cano Morales. “This action provides reinforcement at the federal level that supports our non-discrimination policies and practices that are already in place.”
Lee, who became Rhode Island College’s LGBTQ+ and Gender coordinator in November, says institutions of higher learning everywhere should “take note of this moment in acknowledging students. This is a visible recognition of gender self-determination and adds another layer of protection for folks to express their sexual or gender identity.”
While RIC staff from the CED office are pleased by the court’s action, they stressed that equality work for the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups is far from over.
“Next up is the passage of the Equality Act,” says RIC Director of Office of Institutional Equity Margaret Lynch-Gadaleta.
The Equality Act bill, which aims to end discrimination for gay and transgender people in areas such as housing, credit and health care, passed last year in the U.S. House of Representatives, after being sponsored by Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline. The bill has yet to gain traction in the U.S. Senate.
“Although the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday is a good move, it’s a narrow victory that covers only workers,” Lynch-Gadaleta says. “Approving the Equality Act would keep the momentum going to completely eliminate discrimination toward the entire LGBTQ+ community. I believe Supreme Court decisions carry great weight and maintain confidence in the goodness of people to pass the Equality Act.”
Lee, who for several years has helped organize Queer Arts Fest for AS220, a Providence-based space for artists and performers, is calling for more attention to the intersections of racism and transphobia.
“In the past week alone, the murders of two black trans women, Riah Milton and Dominique ‘Rem’Mie’ Fells, were announced,” he says. “That shows that we still must think about marginalized people who have no legal recourse or protection to address their own harm. There is a contradiction between this hyper-visible protection of trans people and this spike in anti-trans violence we’re experiencing.”
Lee says he also hopes people will invest more time and resources into assisting queer and trans advocacy groups locally and nationally.
“We shouldn’t have to wait for the drip, drip, drip of national legislation, to protect queer lives and communities,” he says, pointing out that groups like Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), which commits to training, developing and supporting queer and trans people of color, are capable of addressing systemic inequities.
Lynch-Gadaleta says while she believes such groups provide a vital service to the LBGTQ+ community, the power and influence of the law can’t be diminished.
“To support gay, queer and trans people, we need both a strong community presence and the law,” she says. “Some people are scared to be active and voice their concerns, but the law protects them.”
