Hundreds celebrate Supreme Court job discrimination ruling at Stonewall Inn
GREENWICH VILLAGE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Celebrations broke out at the legendary Stonewall Inn in NYC on Monday after the Supreme Court ruled that Americans cannot be fired because of their sexual preference or their gender identity.
Hundreds came to the Stonewall Inn during the middle of Pride month to celebrate something they never saw coming.
In a decisive 6-3 ruling, the United States Supreme Court decided that a law on the books for more than 50 years protects gay and transgender people from workplace discrimination -- including being fired.
The surprisingly lopsided ruling was written by Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch.
"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," Gorsuch wrote.
"I was shocked that Neil Gorsuch not only voted with that majority making it 6-3, but also wrote the opinion, that I found to be stunning," activist Jay W. Walker said.
"It's so monumental that the court considered Conservative stood by us and stood by our equality, it's very big," said activist Kathy Marino Thomas.
New York has state laws that protect the LGBTQ community, but most of the country does not, and for them, the ruling on Monday changed everything.
"They're having to hide, it's causing them stress, it causes stresses on their families, it causes stresses on their loved ones, and it's ridiculous," Walker said.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote, "although the court does not wish to think about the consequences of its decision, we will not be able to avoid those issues for long..."
But everyone at the Stonewall Inn on Monday night was perfectly comfortable thinking about the consequences of the decision.
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
