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On June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia.

What does the ruling mean for the LGBTQ community?

At a June 21 briefing, GLAD Executive Director Janson Wu spoke with Gary Buseck, Senior Legal Advisor, about the case, the ruling, and its impact.

The Supreme Court issued a narrow and limited ruling Catholic Social Services (CSS) that focuses on specific contractual language. The ruling leaves intact the broader principle that governments can require contractors, including religious agencies, to comply with nondiscrimination laws – including those that protect same-sex married couples – when providing taxpayer-funded social services. While the Court found Philadelphia’s contract with CSS to be unenforceable, it did so because the contract allowed individual discretionary exemptions on a case-by-base basis but would not consider CSS’s claim. The case stemmed from a claim by Catholic Social Services that it should have been allowed to decline to work with same-sex couples when providing foster care placement services under contract with the City of Philadelphia. Read GLAD’s full statement.

Learn more about Fulton v. City of Philadelphia.