The Weekly is a rundown of news by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission highlighting the week’s top news stories from the public square and providing commentary on the big issues of our day.

Federal Appeals Court Rules That Sexual Orientation is a Protected Class

On Monday, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a ruling that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender non-conformity are prohibited under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.

As previous federal courts have noted, when Title VII was adopted the word ‘sex’ was understood to connote male and female and that maleness and femaleness were determined primarily by reference to the factors the courts termed ‘biological sex,’ namely reproductive organs. But the Obama administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) began interpreting the word “sex” to include “gender identity.” (In separate cases, the Seventh Circuit agreed and the Eleventh Circuit disagreed with this revisionist interpretation.)

In this latest case, the Second Circuit ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation is a proxy for sex discrimination:

To determine whether a trait operates as a proxy for sex, we ask whether the employee would have been treated differently “but for” his or her sex. In the context of sexual orientation, a woman who is subject to an adverse employment action because she is attracted to women would have been treated differently if she had been a man who was attracted to women. We can therefore conclude that sexual orientation is a function of sex and, by extension, sexual orientation discrimination is a subset of sex discrimination.

The Second Circuit asked the EEOC—the agency charged with enforcing Title VII—to file an amicus brief in the case. The EEOC argued that sexual orientation discrimination claims “fall squarely within Title VII’s prohibition against discrimination on the basis of sex” and stated that any line drawn “between sexual orientation discrimination and discrimination based on sex stereotypes is unworkable and leads to absurd results.”

The Department of Justice was not asked to weigh in, but filed an amicus brief arguing against the EEOC, saying this issue has been “settled for decades” and that Title VII does not prohibit sexual orientation discrimination “as a matter of law.”

Currently, people who live in New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Indiana, Illinois, or Wisconsin, are prohibited by federal law from being fired because of sexual orientation, while in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida there is no such prohibition. In the other states the issue is unresolved. Because the circuit courts are split, the Supreme Court will likely decide the issue in the near future.

This week on ERLC podcasts: Daniel Darling talks to Jenny Yang, vice-president of advocacy for World Relief, about being an advocate for refugees and immigrants. On the Capitol Conversations podcast, Matthew Hawkins, Travis Wussow, and Steven Harris check in on a variety of policy items the ERLC is paying attention to as Congress returns to work. On the Countermoves podcast, Andrew Walker interviews Heritage Foundation Scholar Ryan T. Anderson on his new book, When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment. And on the ERLC podcast, Steven Harris hosts a panel to discuss this issue, titled “All God’s Children: Growing Kids who Embrace a Biblical View of Racial Unity.”  

Other Issues

American Culture

Black Americans are over-represented in media portrayals of poverty
The Economist

Media news suggests that the percentage is very much higher. Travis Dixon at the University of Illinois analysed a random sample of television, print and online news stories over 2015 and 2016 and found that 59% of the poor people discussed or depicted in them were black.

Anti-abortion Democrat snubbed by party for reelection
Heather Caygle, Politico

The party's campaign arm has declined to endorse Rep. Dan Lipinski, one of the most conservative Democrats, who faces a challenge from the left.

Christianity and Culture

Graham, Wary of Politics In Life, Gets Capitol Salute
Laurie Kellman, Associated Press

He felt stung by the politics that helped define his life - and resolved to keep a distance. But in death, the Rev. Billy Graham is getting a rare tribute from the nation's top political leaders under the Capitol Rotunda.

Education

Schools preparing for active shooters the wrong way, experts say
Whitney Lloyd, ABC News

Active shooter prevention expert Chris Grollnek estimates that more than 90 percent of fatalities in at least 13 active shootings he has studied were because the victims were trying to hide.

Family Issues

What Parents Need to Know About Juuling
Michelle Woo, Offspring

One of the biggest topics right now in high school parent newsletters everywhere is the Juul. It’s a popular e-cigarette system that looks a lot like a USB flash drive—you may have seen one in your teenager’s room, figuring it contains an essay on The Great Gatsby

1-in-2: A New Estimate of the Share of Children Being Raised by Married Parents
Nicholas Zill and W. Bradford Wilcox, Institute for Family Studies

Growing up with both parents throughout one’s childhood is more common among some racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. than among others.

International Issues

USCIRF Criticizes Treatment of Iranian Christians Seeking US Asylum
Howard Friedman, Religion Clause

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a press release last week calling attention to some 100 Iranian Christians who have been waiting in Vienna for over a year seeking asylum in the United States under the special provisions of the Lautenberg Amendment.

Religious Liberty

Wheaton College’s Courageous Stance Leads to Religious Liberty Victory
Joe Carter, TGC

Wheaton College’s decision to stand up to an illegitimate government mandate leads to a victory for religious liberty.

Mennonite woman jailed for refusing on religious grounds to testify in death-penalty case
Meagan Flynn, Washington Post

“I’d have no problem saying the truth if death wasn’t on the line,” Lindecrantz responded from the witness stand. “I don’t believe in killing fellow human beings or participating in that.”

Obama Mandate Threatened My College’s Right to Exist. Here’s How Religious Liberty Won.
Diana Verm, The Daily Signal

It was my time as a student at Wheaton College that helped me decide to become a lawyer. I never imagined that I’d have to spend six years of my legal career defending Wheaton’s right to exist.

Sexuality Issues

Parental Rights: A Casualty of the Transgender Revolution
Andrew T. Walker, Public Discourse

If the medical establishment deems “transitioning” in the best interest of a legal minor and the parents object on moral or religious grounds, legal precedent now exists that suggests that parental rights can be severed in the interest of countenancing transgender orthodoxy.

Bipartisan anti-sex trafficking bill passes House
Diana Chandler, Baptist Press

Sex advertising websites and their users would face penalties for sex trafficking under a bill passed by the U.S. House Feb. 27, amending a law that had shielded such offenders. Similar legislation is pending in the Senate.

First openly transgender recruit signs up for US military — despite Trump’s ban
German Lopez, Vox

An openly transgender recruit has — for the first time — successfully signed a contract with the US military.