By Viviane Faver
On Monday, it was published that two U.S. Supreme Court justices attacked the 2015 ruling that legalized gay marriage. This fact generated fear among LGBTQ activists and lawyers.
Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito said it was a “stark reminder of the consequences” of the 2015 Obergefell v Hodges decision.
They further confirmed that the court “circumvented the democratic process” and those with religious objections to same-sex marriage will be punished.
“By choosing to privilege a new constitutional right over religious freedom interests explicitly protected in the First Amendment, and by doing so in an undemocratic way, the court created a problem that only it can solve,” they said. “Until then, Obergefell will continue to have ‘disastrous consequences for religious freedom’.
Thomas and Alito, who are two of the five conservatives in the nine-member court, also said they “allow courts and governments to classify religious fanatics who believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, which makes their religious concerns free. . Much easier to dispense “.
American Civil Liberties director James Esseks told the Guardian that the order does nothing more than provide “a preview of the opinions of some judges” and he does not believe it will lead to the overthrow of Obergefell because “freedom to marry has become part of of American culture “.
However, he admits the fear that same-sex marriages will be treated differently.
“What worries me is that they will say, ‘Well, okay, we are going to give you the marriage certificate and you can call yourself married, but we are not going to treat your marriage the same way we treat other people’s marriages.’ concern is that they use religious freedom as an excuse to license discrimination. “
Urge: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, policy director Preston Mitchum said the potential impact of targeting Obergefell goes far beyond same-sex marriage.
“It will affect everything. The court’s resources will be redirected to maintain the status quo. We know that the more right the court is, the less likely it is to rule in favor of marginalized communities … It is more than marriage, because it connects many parties of our lives. “
After Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, LGBTQ rights organizations fear the law will become vulnerable, and these comments act as a wake-up call for what’s to come.
“The nightmare of a hostile majority in the Supreme Court is already here. Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings haven’t even started yet and Judges Thomas and Alito are already creating a long list of cases they want to close,” said Kevin Jennings, chief executive of the civil rights organization Lambda Legal.
