BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's attorney general joined 15 other Republican leaders asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that companies can fire workers based on their gender identity.

Attorney General Jeff Landry signed onto a legal brief seeking to overturn a lower court decision that determined a Michigan funeral home unlawfully fired a transgender employee.

The appeals court ruled that federal anti-discrimination laws protected her and an employer's religious beliefs cannot be used to justify her firing.

NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune reports Thursday that 13 attorneys general, including Landry, and three governors disagree. They argue the 1964 Civil Rights Act intended to prevent discrimination on the basis of sex, not gender identity.

In 2016, Landry successfully challenged Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards' executive order aimed at protecting LGBT people working for the state from discrimination.

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