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Idaho AG signs on in argument against LGBTQ protections

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, center, gives a news conference in Boise, Idaho on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 on the state's decision to sue the federal government over health care reform legislation. Wasden has joined the U.S. Department of Justice in arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court that federal civil rights laws do not protect LGBTQ employees against workplace discrimination. (Joe Jaszewski / AP)
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho – Idaho’s attorney general has joined the U.S. Department of Justice in arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court that federal civil rights laws do not protect LGBTQ employees against workplace discrimination.

The Idaho Statesman reports that Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden joined the friend-of-the-court brief filed Friday arguing the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibiting discrimination based on gender doesn’t apply to those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

The Supreme Court in April decided to hear cases involving people who claim they were fired because of sexual orientation and one that involves a funeral home employee fired after disclosing she was transitioning from male to female.

Other states joining the filing are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.