ROANOKE, Va. – A landmark decision on Monday by the Supreme Court, which ruled that the nation’s most important civil rights law also bans discrimination against gay and transgender workers.
Virginia is set to enact its own protections on July 1, but this brings protections to the entire country.
It was a victory for the Roanoke Valley’s LGBTQ community. Roanoke Diversity Center board member Peter Volosin puts this ruling down with legalizing gay marriage.
“Getting non-discrimination in employment is probably one of the signature achievements, this is a truly historic day, this is probably up there at the top,” Volosin said.
The Supreme Court ruled the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to sexual orientation. The vote was six to three, with Chief Justin John Roberts and Neil Gorsuch joining the more liberal justices.
In a surprise move, it was Gorsuch, President Trump’s first Supreme Court appointee, who authored the ruling.
“Congress might not have anticipated this result when it passed the Civil Rights Act,” Gorsuch said. “But the limits of the drafters’ imagination supply no reason to ignore the law’s demands. Only the written word is the law.”
It’s a victory for Gerald Bostock, who sued the government following termination from his local government job after joining a gay softball team.
“My heart stopped. I went into shock. Though I didn’t ask for this journey, I will willing to do it because no one should go to work fearful of losing their job because who they are, who they love, or how they identify," Bostock said.
Volosin said this is a good move for people in our area, but there’s still a lot more work to do.
“Roanoke is a place where the LGBTQ community is here, but there are a lot of folks that are still are not comfortable coming out and I think that this gives them the cover to do it," Volosin said.