# In 33 states you can be fired for being gay. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 27, 2007, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665 "2007-01-27T01:45:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/1 "2007-01-27T01:45:59Z")
I don’t know why I didn’t know that, being gay and all. That really sucks. This nice young woman just dropped by the house soliciting for [HRC](http://www.hrc.org/). I generally don’t like people coming to my door this way but what can you do? I kinda tried to make her go away but she was pretty feisty. “You know you can be fired for being gay in 33 states.” I was all, “yeah, yeah, yeah you’re preaching to the… what? 33 states? Alright, come in. Let me get my wallet.” Damn. Hey straight people, you think you should be able to fire me for being gay? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/2 "2007-01-27T01:51:51Z")
To be fair, those same states probably allow the firing of heterosexuals who commit sodomy with consenting adults in their spare time. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/3 "2007-01-27T01:58:37Z")
Well, some states are “at will” employment states and they can fire you for any reason they want I suppose. But society is supposed to consider some reasons to be especially dickish. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/4 "2007-01-27T01:59:31Z")
No one should be able to fire anyone for anything that isn’t criminal or business-related. Being gay is neither. (Hardcore religious nuts may wish it were otherwise, but they can bite me, too) Plus, I suspect that the whole story behind the speech you were given isn’t that it’s actually legal to be fired for being gay in 33 states, but rather that there isn’t any legislation in those states that specifically forbids discriminating against it, which is very different, although there _should_ be legislation passed to fold it into existing anti-discrimination laws. (Probably won’t fly in Utah, though…) ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/5 "2007-01-27T02:00:52Z")
Yeah, I’d suspect of bit of playing you in there. ‘At Will’ States largely mean you could be fired for any reason or none. If they want to interpret that as meaning ‘Fired for being Gay’ because anyone can be fired for whatever then I’d say they were stretching things to get some action/money. I’d love to be proved wrong there. But I’d have to see a statute first. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/6 "2007-01-27T02:03:03Z")
Yeah…in 33 states you can be fired for being bald! ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/7 "2007-01-27T02:04:47Z")
Actually, you can be fired in all 50, if you take military service into account. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/8 "2007-01-27T02:05:39Z")
I suspect that those 33 states include some “employment at will” states where you can fire people without cause, so long as you do not unlawfully discriminate. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/9 "2007-01-27T02:10:38Z")
[QUOTE=Oakminster] I suspect that those 33 states include some “employment at will” states where you can fire people without cause, so long as you do not unlawfully discriminate. [/QUOTE] That’s the point. In at least 33 states you can lawfully discriminate against gays. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/10 "2007-01-27T02:29:40Z")
[QUOTE=Swallowed My Cellphone] That’s the point. In at least 33 states you can lawfully discriminate against gays. [/QUOTE] In theory, you could also discriminate against heteros. I don’t see sexual orientation being added to the list of protected classes until the gay marriage thing is resolved. But that may be sooner than you think. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/11 "2007-01-27T02:31:09Z")
In more than 33 states, you can be fired simply for professing anti-gay beliefs in a public place on your own time (like your lunch hour). This bigot that I know couldn’t believe it either until this cute little girl in a Klansman costume came by asking for donations. Turns out it is true. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/12 "2007-01-27T02:39:33Z")
[QUOTE=Oakminster] I suspect that those 33 states include some “employment at will” states where you can fire people without cause, so long as you do not unlawfully discriminate. [/QUOTE] That’s it. You can fire someone for any reason as long as that reason isn’t that you’re black, a women, a Jew, or didn’t fuck the boss, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/13 "2007-01-27T02:48:31Z")
[QUOTE=Jonathan Chance] Yeah, I’d suspect of bit of playing you in there. ‘At Will’ States largely mean you could be fired for any reason or none. If they want to interpret that as meaning ‘Fired for being Gay’ because anyone can be fired for whatever then I’d say they were stretching things to get some action/money. I’d love to be proved wrong there. But I’d have to see a statute first. [/QUOTE] I don’t know what sort of a statute you expect to see, here. The claim is that in 33 states, you _can_ be fired for being gay, not you _will_ be fired for being gay. The problem is a _lack_ of a statute. Specifically, one protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination in the workplace. How many of these states are “at will” states is irrelevant. Even in “at will” states, you can’t be fired for being black, or Jewish, or female.\* The point is that gays do not share similar protections. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/14 "2007-01-27T02:54:48Z")
It’s also worth noting that “at will” doesn’t mean you can be fired for any reason, it means your employer doesn’t have to give you a reason when they fire you. If they do say why, and you can demonstrate that they’re lying, they’ve opened themselves up to a wrongful dismissal lawsuit. I guy I worked with got a few thousand dollars because one of his previous employers fired him for smoking pot at work. He went out and got himself drug tested, and succesfully sued. If his dumbass supervisor had kept his mouth shut, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/15 "2007-01-27T13:48:54Z")
Move north to Canada where fundamental human rights are constitutionally protected. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/16 "2007-01-27T13:55:15Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] It’s also worth noting that “at will” doesn’t mean you can be fired for any reason, it means your employer doesn’t have to give you a reason when they fire you. If they do say why, and you can demonstrate that they’re lying, they’ve opened themselves up to a wrongful dismissal lawsuit. I guy I worked with got a few thousand dollars because one of his previous employers fired him for smoking pot at work. He went out and got himself drug tested, and succesfully sued. If his dumbass supervisor had kept his mouth shut, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything. [/QUOTE] That’s true, and it’s why in “at will” states, it’s probably actually very easy to fire someone for reasons that would normally fall into a protected class (like for race or gender, for instance). The employer doesn’t have to give any reason, and it can be very difficult to prove their motivation in court. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/17 "2007-01-27T14:48:46Z")
Wow, that’s disgusting. For the record, I think “at-will employment” is a crock of shit. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/18 "2007-01-27T15:27:11Z")
[QUOTE=olivesmarch4th] Wow, that’s disgusting. For the record, I think “at-will employment” is a crock of shit. [/QUOTE] Why? Why should a business not be able to end the employment of someone who they think is doing a poor job? No one is entitled to a job. Anyway, in those same 33 states, you can also be fired for being straight. In all 50 states, you can be fired for having blue hair. Theoretically. What’s going on here is that sexual orientation is not a protected class in those states (or the Federal level) like gender, race and religion are. It is in my State as it should be. Discrimination is disgusting but “at-will” laws shouldn’t be eliminated just because they are abused sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/19 "2007-01-27T15:50:04Z")
[QUOTE=olivesmarch4th] Wow, that’s disgusting. For the record, I think “at-will employment” is a crock of shit. [/QUOTE] At-will also means you can leave for any reason or no reason at all without penalty. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665/20 "2007-01-27T15:52:31Z")
[QUOTE=Oakminster] I don’t see sexual orientation being added to the list of protected classes until the gay marriage thing is resolved. But that may be sooner than you think. [/QUOTE] I live in Canada, and sexual orientation was added to the Charter awhile ago. That’s when Phelps launched his “God hates Canada” site. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-33-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-gay/389665.md?page=2)