Missouri attorney general: Law doesn't protect LGBTQ people

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's attorney general believes federal law doesn't protect LGBTQ people from discrimination.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt was among GOP attorneys general nationwide who signed a U.S. Supreme Court brief outlining the position Friday.

The attorneys general are wading into a legal battle over whether discriminating against someone because they're gay or transgender violates a federal law banning sex discrimination. The cases will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 8.

Schmitt's spokesman Chris Nuelle said when the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, sex discrimination did not include transgender people. Nuelle says it's up to Congress and not the Supreme Court to change that.

Nuelle says Schmitt believes regardless of "race, creed, zipcode, or gender," everyone should be treated with dignity under the law.