Missouri Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Transgender Student

In a case that is likely to have a significant impact on LGBT rights, the Missouri Supreme Court recently ruled that a discrimination lawsuit initiated by a transgender student in Kansas City is allowed to proceed. Legal action was first brought against the Blue Springs School District in October 2015 after administrators at the school refused the transgender student access to the boy’s locker and restrooms. While the student was born female, he has identified as a male since fourth grade. After the case was dismissed by a circuit court, it was argued in front of the Missouri Supreme Court. In a majority opinion, the state Supreme Court claimed that because the student alleged discrimination based on sex, the student should be allowed to prove his case in a lower court.

The Basis of the Lawsuit by the Transgender Student

The student’s lawsuit claims that he is a member of a protected class, was discriminated against in the use of a public accommodation, that his status as a member of a protected class was the basis for a discrimination lawsuit, and that he experienced damage as a result. The Missouri Human Rights Act currently prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations in connection with a person’s color, ancestry, national origin, race, religion, or sex. The state’s law, however, does not forbid discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

The Other Case Heard by the Missouri Supreme Court

The transgender student’s case is just one of the transgender rights cases recently heard by the Missouri Supreme Court. Another case involved a gay man, Harold Lampley, who claimed that his employer discriminated against him because he did not exhibit a stereotypically male appearance or behavior. The Missouri Human Rights Commission had previously declined to investigate Lampley’s claims because the Commission assumed that these arguments were based on Lampley’s sexual orientation. A Cole County judge also found that Lampley had failed under a 2015 Missouri Court of Appeals case referred to as Pitman, in which the court reasoned that sex stereotyping is not prohibited by the Missouri Human Rights Act. The Missouri Supreme Court, however, found that the circuit judge’s reliance on the Pitman case was incorrect because Lampley’s case was not based on the man’s sexual orientation. The attorney who represented Lampley has stated that the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision is significant because there are numerous individuals in the community who happen to identify as LGBTQ and who do not exhibit the stereotypes that many people associate with a person born of that particular sex. In making the worker’s argument, the attorney relied on a long line of cases following a series of employment discrimination suits that began with the 1989 United States Supreme Court decision in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins.

Continue Reading the Universal Life Church’s Blog

Missouri’s decisions regarding LGBTQ rights will likely have a substantial impact on many other state courts in the country. As issues involving transgender rights in the United States occur, the Universal Life Church’s blog focuses on keeping our readers well-informed.

(image courtesy of Redd Angelo)