Court Upholds Discrimination Against Lesbian

Georgia’s attorney general did not break the law when he withdrew a job offer to a lesbian because she was planning to marry another woman, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

“Given the culture and traditions of the nation, considerable doubt exists that plaintiff has a constitutionally protected right to be ‘married’ to another woman,” the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said in an 8-4 ruling rejecting Robin Shahar’s claim against outgoing Atty. Gen. Mike Bowers.

The case was considered a key homosexual rights case in Georgia because Bowers successfully defended the state’s anti-sodomy law before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986. Because of that case, the appeals court ruled, Bowers was entitled to believe the public might be confused if he hired someone in a same-sex marriage.

Bowers has resigned as attorney general to run for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.