Despite court victory, LGBTQ advocates brace for more fights
ATLANTA — For weeks, Rachel Mosby barely slept on Sunday nights.
She knew that any Monday in June could bring a decision that could change her life. Any Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court could empower her to be herself.
When the calls started coming nonstop on the morning of June 15, she said, she didn’t just think about how the high court’s decision would weigh on her own workplace discrimination lawsuit. She said she thought of all the gay and transgender people who had lost their jobs over the years after they started living as their authentic selves.
The justices’ 6-3 ruling — that employers cannot fire LGBTQ workers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity — was an unexpected decision that, for the first time, extended workplace protections to transgender people such as Ms. Mosby.
“I was in disbelief at first and then pretty ecstatic,” said Ms. Mosby, who filed a lawsuit after she was ousted from her job as fire chief in the tiny town of Byron, in the heart of Middle Georgia’s peach country. “There’s a lot of validation that goes with that, a recognition for expressing who we are.”
Legal analysts say the sweeping ruling might give a big legal lift to Ms. Mosby’s suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for Georgia’s Middle District, and others like it.
But, even as gay rights advocates celebrate the victory, many say more barriers stand in the way of full equality for LGBTQ Georgians. Some raised warnings about the potential for a “religious liberty” fight returning to the legislature next year.
“Ultimately, the best answer is to have legislation in place that explicitly protects members of the LGBT community,” said Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality. “That’s the best way to ensure that there are no gaps, that we don’t see changes of opinion as the makeup of the Supreme Court may change in the future.”
Over the last two decades, as the gay rights movement made major strides across the U.S., Georgia stayed behind the curve.
It was one of 13 states that still had a same-sex marriage ban in 2015, when the Supreme Court required states to recognize such unions.
Since then, Georgia has remained one of only three states without a broad, statelevel civil rights law protecting employees from discrimination based on factors such as sex, race, religion or national origin, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. The state does outlaw discrimination based on disability and age.
Georgia is one of five states that does not explicitly ban discrimination in public accommodations like restaurants and hotels. And until last month, when it passed hate crimes legislation, the legislature had never approved any sort of protections for the state’s LGBTQ population.
Eight municipalities around metro Atlanta have acted in recent years to fill the void, passing city ordinances to end bias in sectors such as employment, housing, social services and public accommodations.
The most recent was East Point. Its city council unanimously approved an antidiscrimination policy hours after the Supreme Court ruled on the matter last month.
“Advancing equity, inclusion and social justice is the cornerstone of who we are as a community and serves as our North Star,” said Mayor Deana Holiday Ingraham.
Other cities around Georgia, from Columbus to
Tucker, are considering ordinances of their own.
One of the biggest overhauls is being mulled in Savannah, where Mayor Van Johnson recently appointed a task force to examine local policies and determine where there’s room for more inclusivity.
He’s committed to signing off on a nondiscrimination ordinance “that has teeth” by the end of the year, he said. Mr. Johnson also has directed the task force, dubbed Proud Savannah, to mull more symbolic actions, from celebrating World AIDS Day and Transgender Day of Remembrance to hoisting a rainbow flag above city hall.
LGBTQ advocates are still encouraging localities to take matters into their own hands, but they say state and ultimately Congress will need to step in to enact more uniform protections.
“Georgia consistently ranks among top states in which to do business. But, if we don’t have that consistency and those protections for all folks, from a hate crimes perspective, to nondiscrimination protections overall, to health access and safety, then we are not going to attract and retain top tier talent,” said Chris Lugo, executive director of the OUT Georgia Business Alliance.
The holy grail for many gay rights proponents is for Congress to pass the Equality Act, which would codify federal civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community.
The Democratic-controlled House cleared the legislation last summer — with Georgia’s delegation voting along strict party lines — but the proposal has languished in the Republican-led Senate.
That has brought increased attention to the November elections, when Democrats are hoping to wrest control of the White House, U.S. Senate and Georgia statehouse from GOP control.