The Real Reason the United States Lags on LGBTQ Rights

By a 6-3 margin, on June 15, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—a provision that bars discrimination based on a number of characteristics, including sex—applies to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Aside from the fact that the ruling was penned by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee and replacement for former Justice Antonin Scalia, for decades the most reliable opponent of LGBTQ rights in the Supreme Court, the ruling was noteworthy for at least two reasons.