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The Supreme Court has not resolved the question of whether sex

can mean sexual orientation or gender identity. But in a 1989


case, Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, the Supreme Court ruled that the
ban on sex discrimination does encompass discrimination against
people who fail to conform to gender stereotypes. That case involved
a woman who was deemed insufficiently feminine, not a transgender
person.

Mr. Sessionss policy directive was the latest in a series of steps the
Justice Department has taken since he became attorney general to
curtail the reach of civil rights laws. On his watch, the Civil Rights
Division has also changed its position on whether Texas strict voter
identification law was discriminatory, pulled back from using consent
decrees to reform troubled police departments, and began a project
to scrutinize affirmative action practices in university admissions.

Its striking to see the Justice Department argue again and again to
take civil rights protections away from people, Mr. Esseks said.
When else have they reached out affirmatively, not because they are
involved in a case, to say, We think the world is a better place if civil
rights laws dont cover this community?

But in a statement, Devin OMalley, a Justice Department spokesman


for civil rights issues, framed Mr. Sessionss decision in terms of
obeying the rule of law.

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