While the world may be celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in favour of same-sex marriage, here’s some not-so-great news for single women living in America. According to reports, Republicans are pushing legislation that aims to protect Americans who oppose these unions on religious grounds. But critics say the language is so broad, the bill creates a license to discriminate that would let employers fire women for getting pregnant outside of wedlock.
The bill specifically protects those who believe that marriage is between ‘one man and one woman’ or that ‘sexual relations’ are properly reserved to such a marriage.”
Ian Thompson, a legislative representative at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that in addition to targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, the bill “clearly encompasses discrimination against single mothers” and would limp the ability of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal body that protects women from sex-based discrimination, to act.
Women and a huge chunk of men, too, in the US, are up in arms over this bill. The Internet is abuzz with comments from women who are crying hoarse about how this war on women is going the religious way: “How about companies having the right to fire a man who commits adultery or a person who divorces or people who live together who are not married? How about a CEO being fired who refuses to pay a living wage, which I think is a sin and against religion?; or how about firing fathers who don’t pay child support!!!”
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