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Jun 2020
21m 51s

A Landmark Supreme Court Ruling

The New York Times
About this episode

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a landmark civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination. We examine the three words the case hung on; what the written opinions had to say about bathrooms, locker rooms, sports, pronouns and religious objections to same-sex marriage; and the implications for the ruling. Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times and Aimee Stephens, the lead plaintiff in a transgender discrimination case heard by the Supreme Court. Ms. Stephens died in May; she was 59. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily

Background reading:

  • Ms. Stephens was fired after she announced that she would live as a woman. She did not live to see the Supreme Court rule in her favor.
  • Until Monday’s decision, it was legal in more than half of the states to fire workers for being gay, bisexual or transgender.
  • The justices are confronting an unusually potent mix of political and social issues in the middle of both a presidential election year and a public health crisis. Here’s an overview of the major cases this year to get you up to speed.
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