California Supreme Court rejects free speech challenge to LGBT protections in nursing homes

Source: msn/CalMatters

12h


The California Supreme Court rejected a First Amendment challenge to a state law that protects the rights of gay and transgender people in nursing homes and forbids employees of those sites from using the wrong pronouns to address a resident or coworker. The ruling, handed down today, holds that violations of the LGBT Long-Term Care Residents’ Bill of Rights are not protected by the First Amendment because they relate to codes of conduct in what is effectively both a workplace and a home.

“The pronouns provision constitutes a regulation of discriminatory conduct that incidentally affects speech,” the court ruled. The opinion reversed an appeals court ruling that held provisions in the 2017 law relating to patient pronouns and names could impede an employee’s freedom of speech. Five justices signed onto the main opinion; two signed onto a concurrence. There were no dissents.

“All individuals deserve to live free from harmful, disrespectful rhetoric that attacks their sense of self, especially when receiving care necessary for their continued well-being,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a written statement commending the ruling. “State law prohibits discrimination and harassment in the workplace. I am glad that the California Supreme Court agrees with us on the importance of these protections and has affirmed their constitutionality.”

The group challenging the law, Taking Offense, asserted in its lawsuit that the provision mandating long-term care facilities use people’s chosen pronouns amounts to “criminalizing and compelling speech content.”

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/california-supreme-court-rejects-free-speech-challenge-to-lgbt-protections-in-nursing-homes/ar-AA1PXkQl