Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that federal law does not prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. Marshall joined with other states in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the case of a Christian funeral home in Michigan that fired a transgender employee. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, citing the Civil Rights Act of 1964's prohibition on sex discrimination, ruled in favor of the employee. But Alabama and 15 other states contend that the provision in question refers to one's biological status, and not gender identity. The states say the decision ignores the will of Congress and violates the separation of powers. "The role of the courts is to interpret the law, not to rewrite the law by adding a new, unintended meaning," the brief said.