Posts — Protect Thy Neighbor

A project of Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Carmen Green

Another Loss For Those Wanting To Use Religion As An Excuse To Discriminate

Today the Kentucky Court of Appeals (the state’s intermediate appellate court) issued an opinion in another one of the series of cases involving a commercial business claiming it could refuse to serve a customer based on the religious beliefs of the owner. And it’s a loss for those who want to use religion to sidestep nondiscrimination laws.

AU And Allies: Michigan Funeral Home Can’t Use Religion To Justify Discrimination Against Transgender Employee

Americans United and our allies—76 faith leaders and 13 religious and civil-rights organizations—filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of a transgender woman who was fired because of her boss's religious beliefs about gender identity.

Religious Beliefs Shouldn’t Justify Discrimination Against Schoolchildren

Gavin Grimm is the 17-year-old high-school senior at the center of the first U.S. Supreme Court case on the civil rights of transgender persons. At issue: Whether a provision in federal law known as Title IX, which forbids discrimination in public schools on the basis of sex, also protects transgender students who have been denied the equal use of school facilities based on their gender identity.

Americans United Submits Amicus Brief Against Bakers Who Discriminated Against Same-Sex Couple

The Oregon Court of Appeals has been asked to decide whether the First Amendment gives businesses the right to discriminate against customers. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed yesterday, Americans United explained that the First Amendment does no such thing.  

Federal Court Refuses To Halt Enforcement of Mississippi's "Religious Liberty" Bill

A federal court in Mississippi has refused to halt enforcement of HB 1523, the Mississippi law passed in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s upholding marriage equality last year. The bill is apparently the brainchild of a Religious Right organization that has litigated denial-of-service cases across the country.