This article shows a common misunderstanding regarding protected classes.

Nobody is "in" a protected class. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 defines protected classes as race, color, national origin, religion or sex.

So it outlaws discrimination based upon those protected classes, or classifications, but does not protect any particular group in favor of any other.

The confusion probably arises because many people think of classes as groups of people, such as Middle Class, Working Class, etc.

But in this context, nobody is protected more than any other.

So for instance, religion is a protected class, but Baptists have equal rights compared to Mormons, Hindus, Muslims or anyone else. Equal protection under the law is guaranteed by our constitution.