The LGBTQ community is facing a critical challenge at the Supreme Court this fall, one that could either protect all LGBTQ workers nationwide or gut employment protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

I’ve written an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times that lays out the high stakes of these cases. I hope you’ll read the op-ed for an overview of why we should win and why a loss would be devastating, not only for LGBTQ people, but for all employees – and for women in particular.

These three cases may well be as consequential for the LGBTQ community as the marriage cases and other landmark decisions that affirmed our right to equality under the law.

NCLR has been a leader in litigating Title VII cases, and we are working hard to ensure that the Supreme Court does not undo decades of hard-won victories, which have provided critical protections to our community. But we cannot afford to be blindsided by what could be a devastating setback to not just LGBTQ rights, but women’s rights in general.

So please share this op-ed in your networks. As the Supreme Court considers these cases, it is essential that we shine a light on why they matter so much.

Thank you for standing with us as we prepare for this latest assault on our community. I’ll update you as developments warrant.

The post NCLR breaks down the looming Supreme Court battles on LGBTQ rights first appeared on Lesbian.com.

(AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)

BY PAIGE LAVENDER
Huffington Post Gay Voices

Ruth Bader Ginsburg will become the first Supreme Court justice to officiate a same-sex wedding, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Ginsburg will officiate the wedding of Kennedy Center President Michael M. Kaiser and economist John Roberts, according to the Post. The wedding will take place on Saturday at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. During the March oral arguments on DOMA, Ginsburg said supporters of the law seemed to want “two types of marriage,” likening same-sex unions to the “skim milk” version of marriage.

Read more at Huffington Post Gay Voices

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Marriage Equality supporters in Washington D.C., March 2013. (Photo: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Washington Blade

Same-sex marriage supporters who gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said they remain hopeful the justices will strike down California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. “It will change everyone’s lives, make it so much more fair and equitable,” Mara McKennen of Richmond, Va., told the Blade on Friday as she watched Dennis Niekro and Paul Richmond of Columbus, Ohio, and 24 other same-sex couples marry at the Supreme Court.

“Obviously we all want to get these rulings and are hopeful that they’re going to be everything we want,” Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson told the Blade on Monday as he left the Supreme Court. “What we know is no matter what the court does, we have to keep pushing. And we have victory within reach as long as we keep reaching.”

Read more at WashingtonBlade.com

Washington Blade is America’s leading gay news source

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Yesterday, during a discussion at Princeton University, Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court defended remarks he’d previously made about his anti-LGBT views.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on both DOMA and Prop 8 in the coming months, and make a landmark decision one way or another that could drastically shift the tide of equality in the United States.

Read more at dot429.com

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The long fought battle over same-sex marriage in California is now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Attorneys say the case could be reviewed by the high court this fall with a decision on the constitutionality of Proposition 8’s ban on gay marriage possible by next June.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals set the stage for the final chapter in the legal skirmish by issuing a brief order Tuesday stating that a majority of the court’s active judges voted against reconsidering a three-judge panel’s decision to overturn the voter-approved 2008 state constitutional amendment. Three dissenting 9th Circuit judges who favored review called the panel’s ruling a “gross misapplication” of the law that “roundly trumped California’s democratic process.” The two judges who voted to overturn the ban last February reiterated Tuesday that their decision was limited to the situation in California.

“The end is now in sight,” said Chad Griffin, who started an organization that is financing the legal battle against Proposition 8.

Theodore B. Olson, one of the lawyers for two same-sex couples who challenged Proposition 8 in federal court, said, “We are not at the end of the line yet, but we are vastly closer.”

Until the Supreme Court acts, the 9th Circuit’s order will be on hold and Proposition 8 will remain in effect.

Janet Jackson announces transgender documentary project
Janet Jackson is making it clear that she can handle the “Truth.” The 46-year-old actress / singer has signed on as executive producer of “Truth” a film documenting the lives of transgender people around the world.

In a statement announcing the film, Jackson said that she is working on the project in an effort to stop discrimination against the transgender community.

“All people are very important to me. I’ve been fortunate to make friends and learn about very different lives,” Jackson stated. “‘Truth’ is our small chance to ask that you try and understand someone who lives their life in a way that is a little bit different from yours, even though all of our hearts are the same. We want to stop the hate and find understanding.”

“Truth” will be directed by Robert Jason, who previously directed a documentary for The Style Network on four transgender New Yorkers. He says “Truth” will feature stories from throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Latin America. The documentary is set to begin filming this summer.

Star-studded Prop 8 play airing nationwide
The gay marriage play “8” starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney will be available online and on the radio throughout June. The play is about the 2010 federal court battle against Proposition 8, the gay-marriage ban approved by California voters in 2008.

Relying largely on transcripts from court proceedings, “8” introduces viewers to the couples who challenged the California initiative, the attorneys who argued their case and witnesses who spoke out against them.

A recording by LA Theatre Works of the March 3 star-studded performance in Los Angeles will be broadcast in the coming days on 90.7 KPFK in Southern California, 89.7 WGBH in Boston, 91.5 WBEZ in Chicago, 94.9 KUOW in Seattle, 91.1 KRCB in San Francisco, 89.3 WPFW in Washington, D.C.; and over 100 other markets nationwide.

In addition to Clooney and Pitt, the Los Angeles edition also featured Kevin Bacon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christine Lahti, Jane Lynch, Martin Sheen and John C. Reilly. It was directed by Rob Reiner.

The Los Angeles production is also available for streaming, download and CD at http://www.latw.org/.

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