Many Americans will celebrate today’s Supreme Court ruling, Bostock v. Clayton County, which extends federal nondiscrimination protections to gay and transgender individuals. Gay and transgender people should not lose their jobs as a result of their sexual or gender identity. But, in securing the rights of one persecuted minority, courts and lawmakers must take care not to use the law to in turn harm another emerging minority: Americans with traditional religious beliefs about sexuality and marriage.
As Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority today in its 6-3 ruling protecting LGBTQ workers, “the promise of the free exercise of religion … lies at the heart of our pluralistic society.” This promise, however, requires concerted vigilance as new majorities and minorities emerge.
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