Full Civil Rights Are Here
I was having an early dinner with friends when I first found out about the Supreme Court decision granting full civil rights under Title VII to Aimee Stephens and the rest of the transgender community this past June. As one may imagine, my companions were overjoyed to know that we had finally achieved a level of civil protection on par with the rest of the US citizenry, swaddled in and protected completely by Title VII. One of them, I knew, was one wont to know of my interests in transgender civil rights, turned to me and said, “you were involved in that case, weren’t you?” I managed to mumble a slight response, “not directly, but I’d like to think I had hand in making it possible.”
I was referring to my law review article I wrote while still in Law School entitled Reevaluating Holloway: Title VII, Equal Protection, and the Evolution of a Transgender Jurisprudence. The article set forth a means by which the transgender community might achieve just what happened; It was a blueprint of logic and case law that inexorably lead to one conclusion – trans people may not be denied the civil protections the rest of the U.S. citizens enjoy. The article was first published in 1997, and there it sat screaming to be read. In 2012, the EEOC adopted the reasoning set forth in the article in its ruling in Macy v.Holder, which had a big impact on me. It made me feel that for the first time I had made a substantial contribution to the community that I belonged to. As Justice Gorsuch stated, “An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law.” He wrote for the 6-to 3 majority. Gorsuch also went on to say that “It is impossible to discriminate against an individual a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex.”
These words were penned by a Justice formerly known for his conservative bent, and have been considered quite surprising, don’t cha know/, say wot/? Justice Gorsuch was an early-on Trump appointment and carries his own burden of demons and ghoulies; it is enough for us to carry our own. Take his words at face value and embrace the logic of what he says. I can’t even say I’ve ultimately had any great influence on the path of “Transgender Jurisprudence” whatever that is, despite the seemingly obvious coincidence.
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Category: Legal
About the Author (Author Profile)
Kristine Holt hails originally from Northwest Pennsylvania, where her career as a social worker was suddenly ended in 1992 when she was fired for transitioning on the job. Seeking greener pastures, she relocated to Philadelphia to attend Temple Law school. A couple years after she landed in Philly, a lawsuit she had filed against her employer came due, and she ultimately settled for enough funds to take that last step in her transition. Thus proving that what goes around, comes around.Subscribe
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