Could Recent Supreme Court Ruling Lead to Lawsuits by Former Employees Against Religious Employers?
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- [Paul] This Supreme Courtterm gave strong support
to religious liberties in the final week,
but an earlier ruling lefta cloud over the future.
June's ruling in the Bostock case
radically redefined what sex means.
Author Luke Goodrich warns thatcreates potential problems,
as the court has nowmade firing homosexuals
or transgenders sex discrimination.
- You know, there's tens of thousands
of religious organizationsacross the country
that expect their employees to uphold
their religious teachingsabout human sexuality.
So in one sense, Bostock could greenlight
a lot more lawsuits by former employees
against religious employers.
- [Paul] Constitutionallawyer Jenna Ellis warns
the ruling goes even further
because it's a clear example
of the court legislating from the bench.
- The Supreme Court read into a 1964 law
knowing that that wasn'tthe intent of that Congress
to define sex to includesexual orientation
and gender identity.
That term, sex, was only meant to be
the biological difference men and women.
And so if the court can read into a term
from a 1964 Congress,what else might they read
into future legislation thatdamages religious liberty
and a free exercise of religion
and the ability for Christians
to follow our sincerelyheld religious beliefs
in the future?
So the precedent here isnot just for employers.
It's a precedent of whether or not
the Supreme Court isgoing to give themselves
overwhelming powerthat's not constitutional
to then read into futurecongressional acts,
and we need to protect against that.
- [Paul] Ellis believesAmericans can do that
by exercising their right to vote.
- To protect religiousfreedom, to protect pro-life,
and to protect the founding
of America's principles,that our rights come
from God our Creator, not our government,
and that it's thegovernment's responsibility,
including the Supreme Court,to continue to protect
and preserve our freedoms.
- [Paul] Paul Strand,CBN News, Washington.