Final answer:
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed legal discrimination in the United States, especially targeting race, color, religion, and national origin, and established the EEOC. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 further protected racial minorities' voting rights. Later, executive orders and significant court decisions supported the advancement of LGBTQ protections.
Step-by-step explanation:
Legal discrimination in the United States saw a significant turning point with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was landmark legislation aimed at ending discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. This historic act addressed issues relating to employment practices and public accommodations and typically is recognized for its role in ending racial segregation in schools, the workplace, as well as by facilities serving the general public.
Another vital piece of legislation that complemented the Civil Rights Act was the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which targeted the restoration and protection of voting rights, specifically for racial minorities across the country, especially in the South. Its enforcement was supported by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and is considered to be highly effective in ensuring the civil rights of U.S. citizens.
The Civil Rights Act not only covered race but also included provisions to ban gender discrimination, establishing a federal agency known as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to enforce and monitor employment discrimination claims. Despite the groundbreaking impact of the Civil Rights Act, ongoing efforts for the inclusion of protections based on sexual orientation, like the Equality Act of 1974 and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), faced challenges in Congress throughout the late 20th century.
Executive orders served as a more immediate method to extend some protections to LGBTQ individuals in the workforce. President Clinton in 1998 and President Obama in 2014 enacted executive orders prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal workforce and by federal contractors, respectively. The advancements for legal protections continued to unfold in various ways, often through the efforts of LGBTQ activists and significant court decisions like Romer v. Evans, which affirmed the equal status of LGBTQ citizens in the face of discriminatory laws.