Legalized Discrimination
How many states have LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections in K-12 schools?
How accurate was your prediction?
What word came to your mind when you first read and understood this map?
What story does this map tell?
What geographic patterns do you see in this map?
Why do you think that pattern exists?
What is one consequence of this pattern?
If you overlaid the map above with a map showing the political party affiliation by state how would Democratic majority states compare to the states with nondiscrimination policy?
Does your state protect LGBTQ students from discrimination?
What is the most persuasive argument you have heard for why children should be protected from discrimination?
What is the most persuasive argument you have heard for why children should NOT be protected from discrimination?
In 1964 the U.S. Congress passed the landmark Civil Rights Act which outlawed discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and, notably, sex. Why didn’t Congress outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation in 1964?
Why doesn’t the federal legislature outlaw LGBTQ discrimination today?
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that administers and enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination, has said the 1964 Civil Rights Act does guarantee protections against sexual orientation discrimination. Do federal agencies have discretion to make decisions about how to enforce laws?
The Trump administration has taken the opposite position from the EEOC, saying that the landmark legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and, notably, sex, cannot fairly be read to apply to discrimination based on sexual orientation or transgender status. What power does the Trump administration have over the EEOC and what can they do if they don’t like the EEOC’s enforcement decisions?
The Supreme Court announced last year that it would decide whether the Civil Rights Act of 1964 guarantees protections from workplace discrimination to gay and transgender people, agreeing to hear a case from New York, Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda, No. 17-1623, along with one from Georgia that came to the opposite conclusion, Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga., No. 17-1618. Based on what you know about the Supreme Court, why has the court taken on this issue?
How do you think the Supreme Court will rule?
Did you know that the New York case, Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda, was brought by a skydiving instructor, Donald Zarda, who said he was fired because he was gay. His dismissal followed a complaint from a female customer who had voiced concerns about being tightly strapped to Mr. Zarda during a tandem dive. Mr. Zarda, hoping to reassure the customer, told her that he was “100 percent gay.” He was fired. Mr. Zarda sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and lost the initial rounds. He died in a 2014 skydiving accident, and his estate pursued his case which they won in a recent appeals court ruling. If you were on the Court (you aren’t) explain how you would rule on this issue?
Explain whether you would make a distinction in your ruling between protection for LGB people and Trans people.
Do you think that the Court’s ruling on these cases will be landmark cases that will be studied by AP U.S. Government students in the future?
What are some groups that might file Amicus Curiae (friend of the court) Briefs in this case?
Why do groups file Amicus Curiae briefs in cases, anyway?
How would a judicial conservative and a judicial activist differ in their approach to this case?
How does this issue illustrate checks and balances?
How does this issue illustrate federalism?
American’s have different protection from discrimination in different states. How does that inequality match up with the Constitution’s 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law?
Explain the lack of equal protection of rights in our federal system and our unequal protection against the coronavirus under federalism.
Based on the fact that we live in a federal system, what could a person who was upset about their state’s position on LGBTQ discrimination do about it?
Would you like to live in a world without hypotheticals?
The map below* illustrates laws limiting workplace discrimination by state. How different is this map from the map above?
Visual Extension*
Learning Extension
Read the Vox article, The Supreme Court just took up a set of very big cases on LGBTQ rights, about LGBTQ discrimination in America/
Action Extension
Contact a member of your state legislature and ask them to explain their position on protections for LGBTQ students.
Our World in Data Extension
Note the dip in life expectancy in 1918 - the time of the Spanish Influenza.