Anthony Stephens a Funeral Director

Anthony Stephens was a funeral director for a company in Michigan for six years before being fired after his transition into a woman. In 2013, Anthony wrote to his colleagues asking for support and patience with his decision. He wrote, “What I must tell you is very difficult for me and is taking a lot of courage.” The letter said, “I have felt imprisoned in a body that does not match my mind, and this has caused me great despair and loneliness.” Anthony then said that he will return to work as his true self, Aimee Stephens, and wear appropriate business attire. Two weeks after receiving this letter, the funeral home owner, Thomas Rost, fired Ms. Stephens. When asked for specific reasoning, Mr. Rost said: “Well because he was no longer going to represent himself as a man. He wanted to dress as a woman.” Mr. Rost also said that he was uncomfortable with referring to Anthony as Aimee because “He’s a man.” Anthony was admired by all of his coworkers and was a huge contributing member to their team. This case went to court, and Ms. Stephens won in the United States Court of Appeals for Discrimination against transgender people which was barred by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbidding the discrimination on the basis of sex. On November 30th, the Supreme Court will consider whether to hear this case. The justices will also consider whether to hear two related cases on the same day regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged the funeral home with employment discrimination and prevailed in the lower courts. The funeral home does not seem to regret their decision based on what they said in a brief filed last week: “Treating a person whose sex is male as a man is no more stereotyping than is classifying someone born in Canada as Canadian.” Although the company in entitled to their views and beliefs, it is still wrong to terminate someone’s employment solely based on their sexual orientation. Relating to sociology, one of Robin Williams’ 10 key values of culture is equal opportunity. The Aimee Stephens case is just one of countless examples as to how American culture often fails to value and protect the right of equal opportunity.

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