The nationwide debate over transgender rights is playing out on a personal level in a federal court lawsuit filed by a former Liberty University employee fired by the Christian school after disclosing her identity as a transgender woman.

The bitter nationwide debate over transgender rights is playing out on a very personal level in a federal court lawsuit filed in Virginia by a former Liberty University employee. She was fired by the evangelical Christian school after disclosing her identity as a transgender woman.

The lawsuit on behalf of Ellenor Zinski was filed in July by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the Richmond law firm of Butler Curwood. It alleges that she was fired last year from her job on Liberty’s Information Technology help desk solely because of her gender identify, in violation of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Earlier this month, the conservative legal organization Liberty Counsel filed a brief on behalf of the university asking the federal district court to dismiss the lawsuit. The brief contends that the Civil Rights Act explicitly permits religious educational institutions to make employment decisions consistent with their religious doctrine — in this case a doctrinal statement asserting that “denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender” is sinful.

  • P_P@lemm.eeEnglish
    39·
    15 hours ago

    I was about to say, why the fuck would you work for a Christian organization if you are trans? It’s like being black and working for the KKK.

    • floofloof@lemmy.caEnglish
      13·
      13 hours ago

      It depends what kind of Christianity you’re dealing with. Where I live, most of the churches have rainbow flags on display with “everyone’s welcome here” messages and lost of leftish liberals with fairly progressive views. Some even put pro-LGBTQ+ messages on their signs that call people out for bigotry. But Liberty University isn’t that kind of Christianity.

      • Kit
        5·
        10 hours ago

        Yup. A lot of churches have the stance of “love thy neighbor. Did I fucking stutter?” and it’s very refreshing after decades of nonstop hate. Not saying the hate isn’t still out there, but we’ve come a long way even in the past 10 years.

        • prole
          2·
          9 hours ago

          love thy neighbor

          I guess Jesus didn’t consider his neighbor’s slaves to be neighbors as well… Or is there something about a slave that makes them not need love like other humans?

          • Kit
            2·
            4 hours ago

            I am quite certain that the churches I’m talking about are adamantly against slavery.

    • tyler@programming.dev
      25·
      15 hours ago

      Not at all. If these people actually read the Bible they’d be completely fine with trans people. They don’t, they just make up shit to fit their preexisting beliefs and then call themselves Christian.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      15·
      15 hours ago

      I’m just amazed they didn’t figure it out sooner. She does look like she can pass, but I’m still amazed. You would think a place so paranoid of atheist librul indoctrination would run background checks before they hire anyone. Unless a background check wouldn’t turn up her deadname, I guess…

      • Nougat@fedia.io
        15·
        15 hours ago

        Unless a background check wouldn’t turn up her deadname, I guess…

        It absolutely would. There might not be anything specific about gender identity, but it wouldn’t be too hard to do the math.

        I think it’s more likely that they don’t do background checks, because they don’t want to appear on c/priestarrested.