Are you sure about that Steven D? Can we really discriminate against minorities right here in River City and get away with it?

Absolutely, my friends, and the good news is that in many cases you can do it legally. No strings attached. Right out in the open in the bright sun of day under an All-American blue sky. I know because the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals told me so:

Transsexuals are not a separate protected group of workers under a law that bans employment discrimination based on a worker’s sex, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge’s ruling in favor of Utah Transit Authority, which fired bus driver Krystal Etsitty because she planned to use the women’s restroom despite having male genitalia.

The Denver-based appeals court agreed with the judge that Title VII, a federal discrimination act, does not protect Etsitty solely on the basis of her transsexuality. In ruling for the first time on the issue, the court said it is reluctant to expand the traditional definition of “sex” in Title VII beyond the two starkly defined categories of male and female. […]

The 44-year-old Salt Lake County [plaintiff] was born a biological male and given the name “Michael.” She has been diagnosed with Adult Gender Identity Disorder and always believed she was born with the wrong anatomical sex organs, according to the appeals court, which uses feminine pronouns when referring to Etsitty.

Eventually, she began taking female hormones and living as a woman to prepare for sex reassignment surgery in the future.

In the fall of 2001, Etsitty was hired as a UTA bus driver and presented herself as a man and used male restrooms during her training period, court records say. She later told her supervisor she was transsexual and would begin to appear more female.

She was fired in February 2002 after UTA’s manager of operations and a human resources official said they were concerned about liability based on possible complaints from women about Etsitty using the same restroom. The officials said she was eligible for rehire after her surgery and denied any discriminatory motive. […]

Will Carlson of Equality Utah, an advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, called the decision “legalized injustice.” He acknowledged the restroom issue can make workers uneasy but said stalls are available for privacy.

In addition, UTA had not received any complaints about Etsitty because she had not started using women’s restrooms, Carlson said, making the basis of her firing a “red herring.”

So, if you employ any transsexuals (or people just thinking of changing their gender), feel free to fire them anytime you want. You can even tell them you don’t like the cut of their … well, you know. Because they don’t count as “real” people like you and me. Federal laws meant to protect minorities from job discrimination by small minded, prejudiced, pointy headed, asshole bosses don’t apply to them. In short they can’t sue your ass for being a bigot! Isn’t that just the most wonderfulest news you’ve ever heard!

I’m sure Bill O’Reilly and James Dobson are just thrilled.