The bitter nationwide debate over transgender rights is playing out on a very personal level in a federal court lawsuit filed in Virginia by a former Liberty University employee. She was fired by the evangelical Christian school after disclosing her identity as a transgender woman.
The lawsuit on behalf of Ellenor Zinski was filed in July by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the Richmond law firm of Butler Curwood. It alleges that she was fired last year from her job on Liberty’s Information Technology help desk solely because of her gender identify, in violation of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Earlier this month, the conservative legal organization Liberty Counsel filed a brief on behalf of the university asking the federal district court to dismiss the lawsuit. The brief contends that the Civil Rights Act explicitly permits religious educational institutions to make employment decisions consistent with their religious doctrine — in this case a doctrinal statement asserting that “denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender” is sinful.
So I could make up a random relgion, which seems legal in the US (see scientology) and then I would be allowed to discriminate based on my religious beliefs which I totally made up.
That lawyer’s argument is crazy.
Lol, John Oliver did exactly that https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Perpetual_Exemption
Why make up a religion, when you can join an already established one, and then foment a schism? The Church of the SubGenius welcomes all heretics.
In Oklahoma, you don’t even need a religion. Not wanting to employ trans people is a valid reason to be fired. I have lost garbage DAY LABOR gigs for being trans.
They also made it illegal to be a trans teacher, and no federal agency seems at all interested in looking into it. I’m surprised this woman has been able to get a lawsuit off - I’ve been looking for someone to take mine for three years!
I mean the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is a real church, so is the Church of the Dude. They are official and legally recognized religions. More than anything, you need a documented set of beliefs that you espouse and to register your organization.