Supreme Court rules 1964 Civil Rights Law applies to LGBTQ+ people

Activists stand in front of the Supreme Court.

In a 6-3 landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal anti-discrimination laws protect gay and transgender workers from job discrimination in a trio of cases consolidated in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia. 

“For the past few weeks, the LGBTQ+ community has been fearfully awaiting this decision. Today, we celebrate this historic ruling and the progress we have made toward equality under the law. The Supreme Court has officially affirmed that LGBTQ+ Americans are protected from discrimination in the workplace," said Rep. Mark Takano, who in 2012 became the first openly gay person of color elected to Congress.

In the surprise decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex. The ruling was 6-3, with Justice Neil Gorsuch, Donald Trump's first appointee to the court, writing the majority opinion. The opinion was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's four liberal justices.

"Today," Gorsuch said, "we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. The answer is clear." He found such discrimination is barred by the language in the 1964 law that bans discrimination in employment based on race, religion, national origin or sex.

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) applauded the Supreme Court for affirming the rights of LGBTQ individuals, and that they cannot be discriminated against with respect to their employment based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

“NAPABA has and will continue to be supportive of LGBTQ equality,” said Bonnie Lee Wolf, President of NAPABA. “We recognize that there are legal, cultural and social issues specific to the LGBTQ community. We are pleased that the Supreme Court recognizes that discriminatory employment practices due to a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity have no place in the workplace."

“The laws have a significant impact on the Asian Americans community because so many of us are LGBTQ.” said Glenn D. Magpantay, Executive Director of the National Queer APIA. 

In a statement, the NQAPIA said: "This is a watershed moment for the LGBTQ community. The decision will directly impact 1 in 3 (or 5.2 Million) Asian Americans who live in one of 30 states and are at risk of being fired, refused housing or denied services simply because they are LGBT."

AAPIs are the nation’s fastest growing racial group in the United States today. A survey by Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund shows that a majority of Asian Americans support laws protecting gaiy and transgender people from iscrimination in employment, housing and pubilc accommodations.

The High Court's decision is a setback for the Trump administration, which sided with the employers in these cases, and has used its rule-making power to issue new directives that take away previous protections for transgender individuals.

“Attacks by President Trump and his administration on LGBTQ+ rights are persistent," added Takano. "They have threatened the safety, health, and financial well-being of our community by rolling back non-discrimination protections in healthcare, employment, housing, adoption, education, and the list goes on. Under the guise of religious liberty, the Trump Administration has sanctioned discrimination against a community that already suffers disproportionately from high levels of poverty, lack of access to healthcare, homelessness, and violence."

Speaking to reporters, Trump said of the ruling: "They've ruled and we live with the decision of the Supreme Court." He called the opinion "very powerful,"

AAPI LGBTQ youth are more likely to open up to their friends than to family

NQAPIA

Asian American parents who love their LGBTQ children.

Asian American and Pacific Islander youth who are LGBTQ are more likely to come out to their friends than to their parents, according to a new report.
The research, released Wednesday by the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ crisis intervention and suicide prevention organization, also found that LGBTQ youth were less likely to attempt suicide by more than 50 percent as a result of widespread acceptance among their friends.

“Though many LGBT Asians are out in the community, they go back into the closet in their families, fearful of coming out to parents and dishonoring them. Gay Asians should not suffer in silence," acknowledged  Glenn Magpantay, executive director of National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance.

Acceptance of sexual orientation from LGBTQ friends (98%) and straight friends (91%) were high and comparable to rates of non-AAPII LGBTQ youth., the study reports.

Rates of gender identity acceptance among AAPI TGNB youth from LGBTQ friends (96%) and straight friends (72%) were also comparable to rates among non-API youth. Sexual orientation acceptance from straight friends reduced the risk for suicide attempts among API LGBTQ youth by more than half.

“We know that coming out is a personal choice and a lifelong process, that individuals get to choose who and what context they come out to,” Amy Green, director of research at The Trevor Project, said. “The conclusion that really sounds strong there is for those who are friends and others in positions to support Asian American Pacific Islander youth can know how valuable and important that authentic acceptance is.”

Research shows that LGBT youth are more than four times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers. The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ youth between the ages of 13 and 24 in the U.S. seriously consider suicide each year. In the organization’s 2019 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, 87% of LGBTQ youth said it was important to them to reach out to a crisis intervention organization that focuses on LGBTQ youth.

However, among AAPI LGBTQ youth reported lower rates of depressed mood and suicidality compared to non-API LGBTQ youth, according to the study by the Trevor Project.

"It's difficult to make any gay-affirming resources, Asian Pacific Islander specific or not, available to our families because even discussing a family member's sexual orientation or gender identity breaks a major rule in our culture, which is to never talk about our 'problems,'" said Trinity Ordona, a longtime activist for LGBTQ rights. 

"That's why we work to educate the entire Asian Pacific Islander community about LGBT issues, because the less they are seen as problems, the more our families and friends will be able to talk about it."

"We are concerned about our family and the huge fear of rejection we may face," said Ordona. "It's true that many Asian parents tend to be very conservative and protective of their children. But once you can get them behind their kids, they will take on the world!"

Coming-out guide for AAPIs released In several languages in time for Lunar New Year

ASAM NEWS

The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) and Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released new, translated coming out guides for LGBTQIA Asian Americans, Them reported.

The guide, entitled "Coming Out: Living Authentically as LGBTQ Asian and Pacific Islander Americans," is intended to serve “as a valuable conversation starter” for LGBTQIA Asian Americans, their families, and communities, according to a statement from HRC’s Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives & Research, Ty Cobb.

“For many Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, coming out is a lifelong process that can require a different approach because of cultural norms or traditions that emphasize duty to family and community,” the guide reads. “This can make the coming out process more complex to navigate.”

The guide also acknowledges that language barriers can make it difficult to properly describe experiences or terms, as well as find outside resources to support LGBTQIA members.

It is available in Simplified Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese on the HRC website.

Since more than six in ten Asian Americans are immigrants, many American-born children feel an obligation to fulfill the better life dreamed of by their parents, the guide says. As a result, LGBTQIA Asian Americans may fear “disappointing their parents, and will avoid doing anything that might humiliate them or bring shame upon the family among the wider community.” They may be compelled to carry out “rigid gendered” expectations, such as marrying and having children.

Parents may also feel as if they’ve “failed” their children in “turning them LGBTQIA,” or fear the backlash from members of the community. But given time, some parents do accept their children, such as the parents of Jenny Shimizu, an openly-lesbian actor and model.

“When I came out, I was 21 and my parents spent three months at first shocked, and then they joined PFLAG… they became so political, and they realized that being gay wasn’t a huge crisis that couldn’t be overcome,” Shimizu said. “They needed to be educated so they took steps to do that; it’s nice to have that support.”

However, only 17% have had family get involved in the larger LGBTQ community, according to an HRC 2019 report on LGBTQIA Asian American youth.

In the report, 43% say their families “make them feel bad for being LGBTQ,” including 57% of transgender and gender-expansive youth and 36% of cisgender LGBTQ youth. A minority, 19%, report they can “be themselves at home” without feeling rejected or depressed, hearing negative views about the community from family members, or being expected to present as heterosexual, cisgender individuals.

A majority of LGBTQIA Asian Americans also struggle with racism from the outside community, including at school and work.

But Glenn Magpantay, executive director of NQAPIA, implores those who have not come out or not feel acceptance to not feel alone:

“Above all, know that there is no specific ‘mold’ you have to fit, even as you may feel pressure from your family or community,” he said in a statement. “Being LGBTQ does not make you any less Asian, Pacific Islander, or any other national heritage or ethnic or racial identity you may hold.”