INDIANAPOLIS — It was an emotional day for many LGBTQ Americans on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that employers can't fire them over their orientation or identity.
It was a 6-3 decision that continues the expansion of LGBTQ rights in our country but the fight is not over for advocates seeking protection for gay and transgender Americans outside of the workplace.
ACLU of Indiana advocate and educator Kit Malone said the Supreme Court decision affirming gay and transgender workers are protected by federal law is a good start but more needs to be done.
"Housing discrimination is still left open and public accommodation discrimination is still left open," Malone said.
The decision, while a good one, is also a stark reminder for LGBTQ Americans you don't have some of the same rights your straight, cisgender neighbors have.
"That's why we're asking lawmakers to support the Equality Act to put this issue to rest and to affirm that it is illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ people," Malone said.
The Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in several areas including employment, housing, public accommodation and public education.
"Gay people can be denied housing," Malone said. "It's legal in most of Indiana to deny housing, to deny a lease, to pass over for a mortgage, deny housing in emergency shelters."
Currently, many of these issues are left up to states so some cities create their own anti-discrimination ordinances, but that too causes problems.
"LGBTQ people may be protected in Indianapolis, but let's say they drive south down to Greenwood and find themselves in a place where protections don't exist," Malone said.
That's why advocates like Malone said they're going to keep fighting to protect people and to honor the lives of those like Amy Stephens, a transgender woman. She was one of the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case. She lost her job as a funeral director when she let it be known she planned to transition. She died last month.
"I just want to lift up that this is an amazing addition to her legacy as someone who fought for equality," Malone said. "Just knowing she was able to get there is such a big deal."
The Equality Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives last year with bipartisan support. It's now in the U.S. Senate where it has not been taken up. President Donald Trump's administration has said they do not support it.
