AMY ENDED UP LOSING HER JOB AND SHE DECIDED TO FIGHT BACK.
SHE NEVER KNEW THAT FIGHT WOULD
TAKE HER ALL THE WAY UP TO THE
SUPREME COURT.
SUPREME COURT. >> I DON’T KNOW IF I CAN KEEP MY
MOUTH SHUT THE REST OF MY LIFE
ABOUT THIS.
ABOUT THIS. >> Reporter: NEARLY SEVEN YEARS
AGO, 59-YEAR-OLD AMY STEPHENS
WAS FIRED FROM HER JOB AS A
FUNERAL DIRECTOR, AND SHE’S BEEN
LOCKED IN A LEGAL BATTLE EVER
SINCE.
SINCE. >> Reporter: YOUR LIFE IS WHAT
THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THIS COUNTRY.
>> IT IS MY LIFE.
BUT IT’S ALSO A LOT OF OTHER
PEOPLE’S LIVES.
PEOPLE’S LIVES. >> Reporter: IN 2013, AMY TOLD
HER BOSS THAT RG AND GR HARRIS
FUNERAL HOMES IN MICHIGAN THAT
SHE IS TRANSGENDER AND PLANS TO
COME TO WORK DRESSED AS A WOMAN.
>> DEAR FRIENDS AND COWORKERS,
WHAT I MUST TELL YOU IS VERY
DIFFICULT FOR ME AND IT’S TAKEN
ALL THE COURAGE I CAN MUSTER.
I HAVE A GENDER IDENTITY
DISORDER.
DISORDER. >> Reporter: DID YOU WORRY THAT
IT COULD MEAN THE END OF YOUR
JOB?
JOB? >> I KNEW IT WAS A POSSIBILITY,
BUT I ALSO KNEW I COULDN’T KEEP
DOING WHAT I WAS DOING.
>> Reporter: AMY GREW UP AS
ANTHONY AND SAID SHE ALWAYS FELT
DIFFERENT BUT LIVED AS A BOY AND
EVEN MARRIED.
EVEN MARRIED. DONNA SAID SHE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT
AMY’S STRUGGLES UNTIL TEN YEARS
INTO THEIR MARRIAGE.
HOW DID YOU LEARN THERE WAS
SOMETHING GOING ON?
>> I COULD TELL AMY AT THAT TIME
WAS GETTING QUIETER.
>> I WAS SCARED TO DEATH THAT IF
I TOLD HER, I WOULD BE OUT ON
THE STREET.
THE STREET. >> Reporter: AMY EVENTUALLY TOLD
DONNA THE TRUTH, AND DESPITE THE
INITIAL SHOCK, THE COUPLE REMAIN
MARRIED.
MARRIED. >> Reporter: DID YOU GROW
SUICIDAL?
SUICIDAL? >> YES.
>> YES. I STOOD IN THE BACKYARD WITH A
GUN TO MY CHEST.
WITHIN ANTHE HOUR, I REALIZED I
COULDN’T GO THROUGH WITH IT.
I WAS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO KEEP
GOING.
GOING. AND CONTINUING ON, I HAD TO COME
OUT.
OUT. >> Reporter: COMPLETELY.
>> TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.
>> Reporter: AFTER SHE WAS
FIRED, AMY FILED A SEXUAL
DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT.
DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT. SHE SAYS TITLE VII PROTECTS HER,
SAYING YOU CAN’T PROHIBIT A
PERSON BECAUSE OF THEIR SEX.
>> YOU CAN’T DETERMINE A GENDER
EXCEPT BY ASKING THAT QUESTION.
>> Reporter: LAWYERS FOR HARRIS
FUNERAL HOME SAY WHAT MATTERS IS
THE MEANING OF SEX WHEN CONGRESS
ENACTED THE LAW.
>> ALL AMERICANS SHOULD BE ABLE
TO RELY ON WHAT THE LAW SAYS,
NOT WHAT SOMEONE WOULD LIKE IT
TO BE.
TO BE. >> Reporter: IT WOULDN’T HAVE
ANYTHING TO DO WITH TRANSGENDER
STATUS, BECAUSE THOSE CONCEPTS
WEREN’T EVEN IN THE AMERICAN
LEXICON AT THAT TIME.
>> Reporter: 21 STATES HAVE
THEIR OWN LAWS BANNING
EMPLOYMENT BASED ON TRANSGENDER.
THIS COULD CHANGE THE DECISION
WORLDWIDE.
WORLDWIDE. >> Reporter: THE DECISION IS
GOING TO COME DOWN SOON.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT?
>> WE’RE GOING TO KEEP FIGHTING
NO MATTER WHAT THE DECISION IS.
>> Reporter: COMCAST, THE PARENT
OF TURNER NEWS, FILED A COUNTER
SUIT AGAINST AMY.
THE DECISION COULD COME ANY
TIME, BUT THEY DON’T BELIEVE IT
WILL COME UNTIL LATE SPRING.
>> THIS WOULD SEEM TO BE, ON ITS
FACE, PERHAPS, AN OPEN AND SHUT
CASE.
CASE. >> THERE ARE A COUPLE OF ISSUES.
ONE OF THEM, DISTINCTIVELY, IS
THE FACT THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE
ARGUING THAT THE CIVIL RIGHTS
ACT DID NOT SPECIFICALLY PROTECT
TRANSGENDER PEOPLE, AND THAT
WHAT THE SUPREME COURT WOULD BE
DOING WOULD BE EFFECTIVELY
REWRITING THAT LAW IF THEY DID
THIS.
THIS. YOU HEAR JUDGES TALK ABOUT HOW
THEY DON’T WANT TO LEGISLATE
FROM THE BENCH, THAT THIS SHOULD
BE A QUESTION FOR CONGRESS.
THAT IS A BIT OF THE TENSION
THAT IS PLAYING OUT IN THE
SUPREME COURT OVER THIS
PARTICULAR CASE.
PARTICULAR CASE. >> ANY DAY NOW WE COULD HEAR A
DECISION?
DECISION? >> ANY DAY.
THAT IS THE MYSTERY OF THE
SUPREME COURT.
SUPREME COURT. WE WAIT FOR THEM.
>> LIKE SO MANY CASES BEFORE THE
HIGH COURT WILL COME DOWN WITH
THOSE WHO VIEW THE DOCUMENT
ITSELF AS SOME LIVING, BREATHING