Abstract
The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County that sexual orientation is included in the concept of “sex” in the non-discrimination provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is historically indefensible. The Civil Rights Act was initiated by President John F. Kennedy to combat racial discrimination in the workplace and the word “sex” was included in the Act by a “claque of Southern Congressmen” as part of a filibuster attempt to prevent its enactment. It was accepted by proponents of the Act on the instructions of President Johnson merely to avoid the filibuster. No one in his or her right mind believed in the 1960s that women, let alone members of the LGBT community, should be treated equally in labor relations. However, prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation can have a great influence on the trend in the United States to treat LGBT as “normal and natural, satisfying and right.”
Recommended Citation
Johan D. Van der Vyver, Sexual Orientation at the Crossroads, 25 Marq. Ben. and Soc. Welfare L. Rev. 33 (2023).
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