Fired for being gay, and suing Jesse Jackson over it.

There are still 29 states where there is no legal protection if you’re fired for being gay. Luckily for Tommy R. Bennet, Illinois isn’t one of them.

Bennet, who worked for Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH coalition, is now suing the company, claiming he was fired for being gay. If these allegations are true (and there’s no reason to believe they aren’t: it takes a lot of energy and courage to file this sort of complaint, and people don’t do so lightly), this case would be particularly disturbing. Discrimination is always awful, but to be discriminated against when working for a civil rights leader is extra shameful.

Bennett claims he worked for PUSH starting in July 2007, and was both an organizer and Jackson’s travel assistant.

Bennett claims he received a letter in December 2009, in which he was told he was being laid off due to a “lack of funding.” But Bennett alleges someone else was then hired to replace him.

A spokesperson for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition could not be reached for comment Friday evening. When Bennett’s allegations first surfaced in April, a spokeswoman said his claims were false and intended to harm Rainbow PUSH.

(via The Chicago Sun-Times)

The details of the alleged harassment are pretty galling too, but the most important point here is that Bennett has the right to seek justice for his claims. In 29 states, someone in an identical situation would not. For many of us who live in accepting environments or big cities, it can be hard to imagine discrimination taken to this kind of extreme. Especially in a bad economy, someone’s job can be everything, and to take it away simply on the basis of  their sexual orientation should be criminal, as it is in the case of so many other types of discrimination. Spend a minute thinking about it: in 29 states, your friends could be fired for being gay. It’s terrifying.

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Do you live in one of the 29 states where your friends could be fired just for being gay?

Ten bucks says you caught this question today (and every other Monday ever): “What’d you do this weekend?” Innocent enough, right? If you’re like me, all you’ve got to talk about are naps, flea markets, maybe catching a show if my friends and I were feeling adventurous. Plus I’d probably mention spending time with my boo.

And therein lies the problem. My boo is a lady, too.

In 30 states, your friends could be fired on the spot, just for being gay. While employment laws protect workers from discrimination on the basis of common biases like race, gender, and religion, the law is dangerously silent on the matter of sexual orientation and gender identity. That means my boss could fire me for answering a simple question about my personal life honestly. Your friend could get canned for having a photo of their spouse on their desk if a manager happens to not like gay people. You could be passed over for a job in the first instance, just because the recruiter thought you were gay.

There’s no Federal law in place to protect gay and trans workers, so here’s what the legal landscape looks like at a glance on the state-wide level:

The Freedom Index: Freedom to Work