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Letters to the Editor: What’s better than a court ruling on LGBTQ rights? A law guaranteeing them

Supreme Court
Supporters of LGBTQ rights hold placards in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Oct. 8, 2019.
(Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press)
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To the editor: The news from the Supreme Court of the United States — that workplace civil rights protections apply to LGBTQ employees -- is wonderful and something to be celebrated. Full stop.

What nags at me, however, is the careful maneuvering that has to be done to ensure fundamental rights. What makes me nervous is that these rights will be debated and even threatened in the future.

The ruling on protection for LGBTQ workers seems similar to the decision in Roe vs. Wade, with the right to privacy “guaranteeing” a woman’s right to abortion, and not the declaration that a woman has sovereignty over her body. We’ve seen how unassailable this right has been.

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Again, this is a good ruling, but I would feel even better if, in sweeping legislation and in no uncertain terms, workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity was explicitly banned. Maybe Monday’s decision makes this unnecessary? I hope so.

KJ Ward, Los Angeles

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