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Lt. Gov. praises High Court's LGBTQ decision

Mike Desmond
/
WBFO News
This year's Gay Pride Parade has been canceled due to COVID-19.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday saying federal law bars discrimination against LGBTQ people drew praise from Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The case has been working its way up in the court system over whether people could be legally discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Hochul said the court's decision that it was discrimination is the right decision.

"New York State has always been a leader when it comes to the rights of LGBTQ members of our society," she said, "and this is actually the 50th anniversary of the first Gay Pride march. This month, we would have been celebrating in person. So we're proud of that history and we know what we do in the State of New York to ensure these individuals are not discriminated against, but we're never sure what they are going to do at the federal level with the Supreme Court."

Hochul said she hopes the High Court continues this attitude in other cases headed to the court or likely to head to the court. She said all New Yorkers benefit from the decision.

"This is a great day for all of New Yorkers to know that there's no one among us is going to be discriminated against because of who they love," she said, "and so I am really pleased to see the Supreme Court showing such enlightenment and I encourage them to continue these values going forward as they look at future cases."

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.
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