Section 7

Citation: Section 7
Parent Document: Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. 644 (2020)
Jurisdiction: United States (federal)
Effective Date: 2020-06-15
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4760997/bostock-v-clayton-county/ ↗

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gregate. Rather than suggesting that the statutory lan-
guage bears some other meaning, the employers and dis-
sents merely suggest that, because few in 1964 expected to-
day’s result, we should not dare to admit that it follows
ineluctably from the statutory text. When a new applica-
tion emerges that is both unexpected and important, they
would seemingly have us merely point out the question, re-
fer the subject back to Congress, and decline to enforce the
plain terms of the law in the meantime.
   That is exactly the sort of reasoning this Court has long
rejected. Admittedly, the employers take pains to couch
their argument in terms of seeking to honor the statute’s
“expected applications” rather than vindicate its “legisla-
tive intent.” But the concepts are closely related. One could
easily contend that legislators only intended expected ap-
plications or that a statute’s purpose is limited to achieving
applications foreseen at the time of enactment. However
framed, the employer’s logic impermissibly seeks to dis-
place the plain meaning of the law in favor of something
lying beyond it.
   If anything, the employers’ new framing may only add
new problems. The employers assert that “no one” in 1964
or for some time after would have anticipated today’s result.
But is that really true? Not long after the law’s passage,
gay and transgender employees began filing Title VII com-
plaints, so at least some people foresaw this potential appli-
cation. See, e.g., Smith v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 395 F.
Supp. 1098, 1099 (ND Ga. 1975) (addressing claim from
1969); Holloway v. Arthur Andersen & Co., 566 F. 2d 659,
661 (CA9 1977) (addressing claim from 1974). And less
than a decade after Title VII’s passage, during debates over
the Equal Rights Amendment, others counseled that its
language—which was strikingly similar to Title VII’s—
might also protect homosexuals from discrimination. See,
e.g., Note, The Legality of Homosexual Marriage, 82 Yale L.
J. 573, 583–584 (1973).
                 Cite as: 590 U. S. ____ (2020)           27 Opinion of the Court

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