An Indiana legal analyst says the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality will lead to a federal civil rights statue targeting discrimination against LGBT people in the private sector.
IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law Professor Dr. David Orentlicher says that statute would likely target hotels, restaurants, housing and other private businesses.
Orentlicher compares it to the famous Brown vs. Board of Education high court ruling that was eventually followed by civil rights legislation. He says any civil rights statute would not be all-encompassing.
"There will be some exemptions, the religious one," Orentlicher says. "That statute would still not say to pastors, ‘you have to marry these people.’ There’s a First Amendment that protects religious practice."
However, Orentlicher says strong public support for anti-discriminatory legislation and practices may cause some of those institutions to bow to public sentiment.
