At the start of its new term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday in three cases to determine whether LGBTQ people can be fired from their jobs due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, employers cannot discriminate against employees based on sex, as well as race, color, national origin and religion.

However, the Trump administration claims the law does not cover discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The cases mark the first time the Supreme Court will rule on LGBTQ rights since conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh replacing Anthony Kennedy, who wrote many of the court’s major LGBTQ rights rulings.

Democracy Now! speaks with Laverne Cox, a longtime trans rights activist and award-winning transgender actress best known for her role on the show Orange Is the New Black, and Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project.

Strangio's work includes impact litigation, as well as legislative and administrative advocacy, on behalf of LGBTQ people and people living with HIV across the United States.

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