Editorial: Stand up for equality and the Ohio Fairness Act

Now that Donald Trump’s first appointee to the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that the 1964 Civil Rights Act no more allows discrimination against gay and transgender people for their demographics than it does against racial minorities or women, can Ohio Republicans finally find their way to the same conclusion?

The high court’s ruling on Monday was a surprise to many, especially given the court’s 5-4 conservative majority. But two conservatives — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch, appointed by Trump shortly after he took office — joined their liberal colleagues in the ruling.

Gorsuch even wrote the majority opinion, which said, “An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what (the law) forbids.”

While Ohio supporters of essential fairness rightly are cheering the decision, they want that protection extended at the state level, too.

The Ohio Fairness Act, consisting of companion bills in the House and Senate, would explicitly forbid such discrimination, but neither bill is moving very fast through the Republican-controlled General Assembly.

Senate Bill 11, introduced well over a year ago by Democratic Sen. Nickie Antonio of Lakewood, hasn’t had a hearing since May 2019. House Bill 369, which Democratic Rep. Michael Skindell — also of Lakewood — introduced in October, hasn’t been heard since February.

What is the problem for Republicans? Certainly not their traditional allies in the business community; Ohio Business Competes is an organization of nearly 1,000 businesses, from international banks and law firms to Daisy Jane’s Flower Truck, that want to see the Fairness Act passed. Why? Because they know that potential customers, talented employees and relocating companies overwhelmingly demand locations that are welcoming and inclusive.

Although many mainstream religious people and leaders also are supportive of LGBTQ rights, opposition typically is based in religious belief. Both supporters and opponents predict that, in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, the battle will continue in lawsuits claiming that anti-discrimination laws violate employers’ or landlords’ freedom of religion.

Perhaps some accommodation for “religious freedom” can be worked out, as has happened in other cases, such as the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that employers’ insurance plans cover the cost of birth control.

History suggests that the remaining conflict will fade with time. Surely there were times in American history when mainstream religious principles made some people unwilling to hire or rent to a single woman or a Jew or a Black person. Who can imagine such a “religious liberty” claim succeeding now?

The day likely is coming when citing religion to justify unequal treatment of LGBTQ people will be equally unacceptable. We hope the day comes soon. The pace at which public opinion has evolved on gay rights suggests it will.

Nothing on earth can compel anyone to open their minds to inclusiveness. Disagreement, disapproval and dislike are private matters of the heart and people are entitled to them.

That’s not what the Ohio Fairness Act is about. It’s about equal treatment under the law, and Statehouse Republicans should not make Ohioans wait for the state to get on the right side of history.