Hollywood Life spoke EXCLUSIVELY with transgender rights activist Nicole Maines who raved over the latest Superior Court ruling protecting LGBTQ employees.
Nicole Maines, 22, is known by many fans as ‘Dreamer’, on The CW’s Supergirl. But the 22-year-old 2020 GLAAD Award nominee is also an avid transgender rights activist who has achieved much more than the coveted title of TV’s first transgender superhero. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Nicole to get her reaction to the Superior Court ruling on June 15 which protects LGBTQ employees from being discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. “I mean, finally some good news,” Nicole exclaimed.
“And it’s so good to have the majority of the Supreme Court rule the vote,” she noted of the landmark ruling which was decided by a vote of 6-3. “It makes me feel that not all hope is lost. Despite everything going on, we are making progress, making huge progress!” The court ruled that the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate because of a person’s sex, among other factors, also covers an individual’s sexual orientation and transgender status.
Nicole Maines celebrated at the Los Angeles Pride Parade in 2019.
“For the Supreme Court of the United States to rule that you cannot discriminate against an LGBTQ person in the workforce, for being LGBTQ is so massive,” Nicole continued. “I’m hoping moving forward, that will set where the bar is for other forms of discrimination. Because of course, that came in the same week that Donald Trump took away protections for Trans people in health care. So, I’m hoping that moving forward legal systems will recognize that since you can’t discriminate against them in the workforce, then why should you be able to discriminate against them when it comes to health care? So, I’m hoping that sets the bar a little bit higher.”
Of course, Nicole realized the historic decision came just days after the Trump administration finalized a regulation that will erase protections for transgender patients against discrimination by doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies. “It’s just an emotional rollercoaster for folks lately,” she said. “I am hoping that [the latest Supreme Court ruling] minimizes the effectiveness of his decision. I mean, the fact that we have to have this conversation and the fact that we have to say, ‘No, you should not deny a person health care, because they’re trans.’ That seems crazy to me. How does a person go into medicine and decide I’m only going to treat this person and I’m not going to treat another?”
Sourse: hollywoodlife.com
