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With the recent announcement of Amy Coney Barrett being picked by the president as the next supreme court justice, the topic of marriage equality has been brought to the surface again. Though, this time, in a negative light. From an article by NPR, Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have voiced their concerns for religious freedoms and want to use that as a reason to reverse marriage equality. With the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, who chose to ignore questions on whether she believes same-sex marriage should be repealed or not, as a supreme court justice, their ideas might become reality.
The 2015 supreme court decision Obergefell v. Hodges stated that same-sex couples have a right to marry under the 14th amendment. In my opinion, marriage equality should be a basic human right, it should not have to be a fight, taken to the supreme court, to decide whether it is allowed or not. The only reason that same-sex marriage is looked down upon is religious reasons. Those with religious views use excuses of “marriage should be between one man and one woman,” to push their hateful and bigoted agenda. Religion should not be used as an excuse to hate others who are different than you.
These justices state that allowing same-sex marriage has “ruinous consequences for religious liberty,” aka, it doesn’t allow those who use their religion as a reason to hate others to discriminate against same-sex couples. There is a separation of church and state for a reason, supreme court justices should not be allowed to use religious beliefs in making decisions that impact others’ lives. Why does someone’s sexual orientation upset others so much? How is it really impacting them? Will it really be that horrible for business owners to provide services to same-sex couples? No. It won’t.
According to an article published by NPR they state that Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the Supreme Court Monday night, which could be disastrous to many, not just the LGBTQ+ community. This confirmation sets conservatives in six of the seats on the court, giving them well over half the votes. Why, a week before the election, is it allowed for the president to assign a new supreme court justice who aligns with his political and religious views, when it has not been allowed for previous presidents?
Marriage should be a right to any consenting adult, despite their sexual orientation. Heterosexual couples do not have to fight for their right to marry their partners, they do not get discriminated against for who they love, they do not have to fear that a few hateful humans have the authority to take away their rights to marry the love of their lives. Why do we allow these horrible discriminatory acts to happen? We need to demand a change. We need to fight for equality for all, the right to marry, the right to be safe showing physical affection to our partners. It’s judges like these, who allow their “religious freedom” to deny others of rights, that let bigoted humans feel entitled to harass, assault, or even murder LGBTQ+ individuals.