The Trump administration has filed a brief to the Supreme Court this week, asking that social service agencies, funded by taxpayer dollars, should be allowed to refuse to work with LGTBQ families if it violates the agency’s religious beliefs.
What We Know:
- In a 35-page brief released this week by the Department of Justice, the Trump administration argues that cities should not be able to protect LGBTQ couples and families from discrimination by religious organizations. This works to roll back an Obama-era rule that classifies sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes from discrimination.
- This brief was filed in response to the Fulton v. City of Philidelphia case from March 2018 which centered around the refusal of the religious nonprofit child welfare agency, Catholic Social Services (CSS), to place children in same-sex homes. The City of Philadelphia told CSS that they must abide by nondiscrimination policies when they hired the organization to provide foster care for children in need, but when CSS refused to place children in same-sex homes, the City of Philadelphia terminated the contract and in response, CSS sued.
- While barring adoption to same-sex couples did violate Philadelphia’s nondiscrimination ordinance, CSS argued that they are exercising their freedom of religion and speech and it would be a violation of their rights if they were prevented from doing so.
- CSS first filed a lawsuit in 2018 when the contract termination first occurred. The district court ruled against CSS and an unanimous ruling from the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this decision. Despite this, CSS appealed to the Supreme Court in February and the Supreme Court has decided to take on the case. CSS is represented by The Becket Fund For Religious Liberty.
- The brief urges the Supreme Court to rule in favor of the faith-based organization as it claims that Philidephia’s decision to end its contract with CSS reflects “an unconstitutional hostility towards religion” as “Philadelphia has impermissibly discriminated against religious exercise”.
- The decision for the Supreme Court to take on the case has raised concerns with civil rights advocates due to the potential consequences of a ruling in line with the Trump administration’s wishes, in favor of the faith-based non-profit. The American Civil Liberties Union warns that it could endanger non-discrimination protection nationwide.
- Leslie Cooper, deputy director of the ACLU’s LGBT and HIV Project, issued a statement in response to the case, “while this case involves rejecting LGBTQ families, if the court accepts the claims made in this case, not only will this hurt children in foster care by reducing the number of families to care for them, but anyone who depends on a wide range of government services will be at risk of discrimination based on their sexual orientation, religion or any other characteristic that fails a provider’s religious litmus test”.
- The ACLU signaled it will respond to the government’s brief in a filing due before the Supreme Court on August 13th.
- The United States government is not a party of the lawsuit, meaning that the brief was submitted voluntarily to show the Trump administration’s support of the CSS and their right to refuse adoption services to LGBTQ families.
As of now, the Supreme Court is set to hear the Fulton v. City of Philadelphia case in the fall. Until then, the Supreme Court will hear and issue rulings in a suite of cases related to LGBTQ equality, one of which could determine whether LGBTQ+ workers are protected by federal nondiscrimination laws in employment. Under the current administration, the Justice Department has argued that employers should be free to fire workers for being gay or trans.
