Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/17-1618_hfci.pdf
Page Number: 39.0

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BOSTOCK v. CLAYTON COUNTY 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employ-
ment discrimination on any of five specified grounds: “race, 
color,  religion,  sex,  [and]  national  origin.”    42  U. S. C. 
§2000e–2(a)(1).    Neither  “sexual  orientation”  nor  “gender
identity” appears on that list.  For the past 45 years, bills
have  been  introduced  in  Congress  to  add  “sexual  orienta-
tion”  to  the  list,1  and  in  recent  years,  bills  have  included
“gender  identity”  as  well.2    But  to  date,  none  has  passed 
both Houses. 

Last year, the House of Representatives passed a bill that 
would amend Title VII by defining sex discrimination to in-
clude both “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,”  H. R. 
5, 116th Cong., 1st Sess. (2019), but the bill has stalled in 
the  Senate.  An  alternative  bill,  H. R.  5331,  116th  Cong., 
1st  Sess.  (2019),  would  add  similar  prohibitions  but  con-
tains  provisions  to  protect  religious  liberty.3  This  bill  re-
mains before a House Subcommittee. 

Because  no  such  amendment  of  Title  VII  has  been  en-
acted in accordance with the requirements in the Constitu-
tion (passage in both Houses and presentment to the Pres-
ident,  Art.  I,  §7,  cl.  2),  Title  VII’s  prohibition  of 

—————— 

1 E.g., H. R. 166, 94th Cong., 1st Sess., §6 (1975); H. R. 451, 95th Cong., 
1st Sess., §6 (1977); S. 2081, 96th Cong., 1st Sess. (1979); S. 1708, 97th
Cong., 1st Sess. (1981); S. 430, 98th Cong., 1st Sess. (1983); S. 1432, 99th
Cong., 1st Sess., §5 (1985); S. 464, 100th Cong., 1st Sess., §5 (1987); H. R. 
655, 101st Cong., 1st Sess., §2 (1989); S. 574, 102d Cong., 1st Sess., §5
(1991); H. R. 423, 103d Cong., 1st Sess., §2 (1993); S. 932, 104th Cong.,
1st Sess. (1995); H. R. 365, 105th Cong., 1st Sess., §2 (1997); H. R. 311,
106th Cong., 1st Sess., §2 (1999); H. R. 217, 107th Cong., 1st Sess., §2 
(2001); S. 16, 108th Cong., 1st Sess., §§701–704 (2003); H. R. 288, 109th
Cong., 1st Sess., §2 (2005). 

2 See, e.g., H. R. 2015, 110th Cong., 1st Sess. (2007); H. R. 3017, 111th
Cong., 1st Sess. (2009); H. R. 1397, 112th Cong., 1st Sess. (2011); H. R. 
1755, 113th Cong., 1st Sess. (2013); H. R. 3185, 114th Cong., 1st Sess., 
§7 (2015); H. R. 2282, 115th Cong., 1st Sess., §7 (2017); H. R. 5, 116th 
Cong., 1st Sess. (2019). 

3 H. R. 5331, 116th Cong., 1st Sess., §§4(b), (c) (2019).