The Supreme Court just gave LGBTQ people a major, major win

Finally, some good news.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that previously existing federal law protects gay and transgender employees from discrimination.

Before the ruling, the Supreme Court had yet to determine whether or not Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination for protected classes, covered gender identity and sexual orientation as well.

The wording of Title VII only specified the prohibition of discrimination occurring because of "sex," which LGBTQ advocates argued should include sexual orientation and gender identity. Opponents argued sex discrimination is not understood to include gender identity or sexual orientation.

Some states have their own laws that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination, which will remain in place. But if you were an LGBTQ employee living outside of those states (which many LGBTQ people do), you weren't legally protected against discrimination based on your gender identity or sexual orientation before this ruling.

Monday marks a big win. The Supreme Court's ruling extends similar protections for the rest of the country.

The ruling, which was instantaneously celebrated by the LGBTQ community, was a surprising one from a conservative court. (Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh were the three dissenters.)

Sometimes 2020 decides to throw a curveball. Take a moment to celebrate.

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