Supreme Court decision 'catalyst' for change: LGBT activists

Supreme Court decision 'catalyst' for change: LGBT activists

[NFA] Supporters of LGBT rights praised the landmark decision from the Supreme Court, calling it a catalyst for change, but long overdue.

Colette Luke has more.

(New York resident Roger McKinsey): "It's about time, I mean, we are human beings, too, you know what I mean.

Why shouldn't we get equal rights just as everyone else?” Supporters of LGBT rights hailed a landmark decision from the Supreme Court, calling it a catalyst for change, but long overdue.

(New York resident Drew Ginsburg): "It's right.

It should've happened a lot time ago” (New York/Trinidadian resident Wendy Dumas-John): "We've been fighting this fight for so long...it's like it's a brand new day, not only for lesbians and gays, but for trans people." A diverse crowd of New Yorkers wearing masks and waving the rainbow pride flag gathered on Monday at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan, the bar where the gay rights movement started.

The High Court ruled that a longstanding federal law barring workplace discrimination also protects gay and transgender employees.

The 6-3 ruling represented the biggest moment for LGBT rights in the United States since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.

And it comes during the month of June – Pride Month.

(New York resident Drew Ginsburg):"It makes me feel proud.

Especially with pride month being cancelled, I feel like pride month should turn into equality month." Two conservative justices joined the court's four liberals in the decision: Chief Justice John Roberts and Neil Gorsuch, a 2017 Trump appointee who wrote the ruling.

(Donald Zarda's lawyer Gregory Antollino):“You know, I can win other cases, but I'll never top this." Attorney Gregory Antollino represented one of the plaintiffs - Donald Zarda – a case that Antollino has been working on for ten years.

Zarda sued after being fired as a skydiving instructor in New York and claimed he lost his job after he told a customer he was gay and she complained.

He died in a skydiving accident after filing the lawsuit in 2014.

(Donald Zarda's lawyer Gregory Antollino):“I wish Don were here to celebrate with me…It'll be a catalyst toward changing history.

You know, it's a new decision.

It's going to take the states that don't protect LGBT rights time to adjust to." The ruling comes as the Trump administration continues to roll back LGBT rights including last week issuing a rule lifting anti-discrimination protections for transgender people in healthcare.

The Supreme Court faces another test in its next term, which starts in October, in a case pitting LGBT rights against religious rights involving Philadelphia's decision to bar a Catholic organization from participating in the city's foster care program because the group will not place children with same-sex couples.