The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Monday that employers cannot discriminate in hiring due to a candidate's sexual or gender preference was a surprising revelation for many Americans, including Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD.
"It was groundbreaking. It was historic today," she told Cheddar.
Still, Ellis said this is just a small part of the rights challenges members of the LGBTQ community face.
"We're debating whether or not I can be fired from my job at the Supreme Court simply because I'm gay. It shouldn't even be a discussion," she said.
The historic decision came just days after the Trump administration rolled back healthcare protections for transgender people under the Affordable Care Act -- a move which Ellis said is in line with the president's broader dismissal of LGBTQ people throughout his term.
"This administration has attacked the LGBTQ community 150 times with both policy rollbacks and rhetoric since he's come into power," she said.
As demonstrators across the nation call for social justice and equality this June, Ellis said that it is important for Pride month supporters to remember where it started.
"Pride is a protest, and we need to be on the streets," she stated. "We have to go back to our roots this one. This Pride especially."
She noted that 14 members of the trans community have been violently killed so far this year.
In 2020, a year unlike any other with a pandemic canceling Pride celebrations and calls for social justice amplified throughout the nation, Ellis tasked people to come together now to force real change.
"Our community is our power. Our identity is our power," she said. "We need to be fighting for Black Lives Matter, for our trans community. We have to be standing up for each other right now, and we need to be locking arms as marginalized communities."
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders endorses former Democratic rival Joe Biden for president.
Transit unions are calling for greater protections for their employees, as coronavirus has taken a heavy toll on bus drivers and train operators working on the frontlines.
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif. - 3rd District) believes the former captain of the Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt, deserves to be reinstated after being removed for going around the chain of command to ask for help for his virus-plagued vessel.
The Supreme Court said Monday it will hold arguments by teleconference in May in key cases, including President Donald Trump's bid to shield his tax and other financial records.
The sailor was found unresponsive on April 9 and moved to ICU at a hospital. He died Monday. The Roosevelt has been in a coronavirus crisis that prompted the acting Navy secretary to fire the ship's captain on April 2.
White House officials are pointing to hopeful signs that the spread of the coronavirus could be slowing. President Donald Trump insisted he would not move to reopen the country until it is safe.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
Flight attendants for American Airlines told Cheddar of frantic attempts to collect as much personal protective equipment as they can despite promises from the carrier to provide masks, gloves, and hand sanitizers for its employees.
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have launched a website for Americans who didn’t file their taxes for 2018 or 2019 to submit their bank account information so they can receive their coronavirus stimulus check.
During World War II, the shipyard earned the nickname the "Can-Do Shipyard" for its efforts in constructing ships and other military vessels. Now, the industrial complex and its tenants are aiding in a fight against an invisible enemy.
