NationBuilder

Dear Friend,

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled by a 6-3 majority that an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates federal law.

Specifically, according to Justice Neal Gorsuch who wrote the opinion, this is a violation of Title VII—that part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that makes it “unlawful…for an employer to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual…because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex or national origin.”

From this day forward, this decision will degrade one of our most fundamental rights as Americans-the right to religious freedom. It cuts off the right of Americans who have deeply held religious convictions to fairness and freedom in the workplace, in sports, and in academics.

Specifically, the Court ruled that “sex” includes “sexual orientation” (being homosexual) and “gender identity” (being transgender). Redefining "sex" to include "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" threatens everyone's freedom and will set off years of litigation against business owners, churches, religious institutions, and people of faith, who will suffer greatly because of the Court's short-sighted wokeness. Make no mistake. This earth-shattering precedent now sets off a war against people and institutions of faith. We will be forced and coerced not only to be silent, but also to repent and agree with the new sexual orthodoxy.

It also signals the Supreme Court's willingness to disregard the separation of powers by legislating from the bench to re-define clearly understood terms like "sex". Adding "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the list of covered categories in the Civil Rights Act is a function of the legislative branch, not the courts. No one in their right mind believes that when it enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Congress intended the word "sex" to mean homosexuals and transgenders, although bills have been filed in Congress for years to add those terms to the law yet have never passed. The Court today enacts those failed legislative initiatives by usurping the powers of the Congress.

(Do you support our work at NC Values defending your pro-religious liberty values? Would you consider making a one-time donation today?)

Redefining “sex” to mean “gender identity” causes big problems:

It undermines equal opportunities for women. Males identifying as female will take women’s places on athletics teams and on the award podium, as recently happened at the Connecticut girls’ high‐school track finals where two boys identifying as girls have won 15 girls’ state-track-and-field titles over the past two years.
It jeopardizes bodily privacy rights of women by forcing organizations to open women’s shelters, locker rooms, restrooms, and showers to men who say they are women.
It puts employers in unfair situations by forcing them to engage in the very stereotypes the law is supposed to condemn.

Finally, it signifies that a biblical vision of sexuality and family is out of step with the direction of this Supreme Court. Since our country’s inception, our laws and constitution have protected the rights of our citizenry to exercise our religious beliefs-beliefs that include “sex” being defined by biology and anatomy, not personal preference or identities. This breathtaking decision signifies a sharp turn in our nation’s history away from our Creator and being created in His image.

Our sister organization, the Institution for Faith & Family filed an Amicus Brief in these cases along with the Christian Family Coalition in August 2019, and our Executive Director, Tami Fitzgerald spoke at a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court while oral arguments were going on. Our brief argued that nothing “warrants a sweeping redefinition of biological reality that injects sexual orientation and/or gender identity into the meaning of the word ‘sex.’” We also laid out the same four scenarios for possible combinations of sex and sexual orientation that Justice Alito noted in his dissent, concluding that “sexual orientation” is not part of the protections afforded by Title VII.

We will continue to work to protect the freedom of every American to live and work according to their faith at the federal, state, and local level. We now call on Congress and on our North Carolina General Assembly to protect religious freedom with specific legal protections in statute. Our freedoms are on the line, and we can’t just sit back and watch them erode.

Would you consider making a donation today of $50, $100, $250, $500, or some other amount towards our work protecting religious liberty? Especially after this decision, the work of organizations like ours are needed now more than ever....

Sincerely,

Tami Fitzgerald
NC Values Coalition