During my downtime at work, I stumbled on a disturbing news article out of California that upheld the right of a private educational institution (Christian high school) to discriminate against and expel students on the basis of their sexual identity.
From the LAtimes:
"After a Lutheran school expelled two 16-year-old girls for having "a bond of intimacy" that was "characteristic of a lesbian relationship," the girls sued, contending the school had violated a state anti-discrimination law.
In response to that suit, an appeals court decided this week that the private religious school was not a business and therefore did not have to comply with a state law that prohibits businesses from discriminating. A lawyer for the girls said Tuesday that he would ask the California Supreme Court to overturn the unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal.
The appeals court called its decision "narrow," but lawyers on both sides of the case said it would protect private religious schools across California from such discrimination suits.
Kirk D. Hanson, who represented the girls, said the "very troubling" ruling would permit private schools to discriminate against anyone, as long as the schools used their religious beliefs as justification. {...}
In addition to their discrimination claim, the girls complained that the school invaded their privacy and detained them unlawfully. The girls complained the principal sat "very close" to them and asked them if they were bisexual, if they had kissed each other, and whether they had done anything "inappropriate," the court said. {...}"
In case we weren't shocked out of complacency by Proposition 8 and the other state referendums that limited the rights of LGBTQA students, this should serve as a strong reminder that not only is gay marriage not our only frontline, but that discrimination still legally persists. As fortunate as we are to have the inclusion of sexual identity in ENDA now, discrmination against an individual for their gender identity is is still legal in at least 23 states that do not include gender identity in their state-level anti-discimination laws, if they have them. Moreover, this case highlights the precarious balance the LGBTQA must strike between preserving freedom of religion and establishing our right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" as equal citizens under the law.
We will march on,
-Emily, Treasurer and Webmaster
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