FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 05, 2022
Contact: Kenny Palmer | press@indivisible.org
Washington, DC — Today, Meagan Hatcher-Mays, Director of Democracy Policy
“Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in 303 Creative, a case that could allow countless businesses and corporations across the country to discriminate against LGBTQ people, all in the name of religious ‘freedom.’ If the MAGA justices on the bench get their way, bigots need only claim a religious objection to the LGBTQ community to receive a broad license to discriminate with impunity.
“If you’re having déjà vu, you’re not alone. This is not the first time that the conservatives on the Supreme Court have invited specious legal challenges in their efforts to distort the meaning of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to grant expansive power to the religious right to discriminate against groups they hate. This is not about religion. This is about hatred and discrimination.
“The bigots will not stop with the LGBTQ community. As Justices Jackson and Sotomayor warned out during arguments today, racist so-called Christians have cited their religious beliefs as a justification for discriminating against Black customers. Given the blatant extremism of their conservative colleagues, Jackson and Sotomayor are right to worry. The right’s goal is to insulate Christians from federal laws they don’t like, and they have found powerful allies on the Supreme Court to help them achieve this aim. The fact that the Court agreed to hear this case — which was brought by a business owner who has never even been asked to make a product for an LGBTQ person and therefore has not suffered any cognizable legal harm — tells you everything you need to know about this Supreme Court.
“These attacks on the LGBTQ community and their personal freedoms would be vile at any time, but are especially difficult to take given the existential threats they are facing throughout the country, thanks to violent rhetoric from Fox News and GOP officials alike. Stripping LGBTQ people of critical anti-discrimination protections, when it isn’t even safe to have an evening out at a gay bar, would be low, even for the MAGA justices. The public’s faith in the Court is at an all-time low, but if they side with bigots, it will go even lower.”
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The Indivisible Project (501c3) is a social movement non-profit driven by a vision of a real democracy - of, by, and for the people. Indivisible began in 2016 as a viral guide to resisting Trump’s agenda. Today, the Indivisible movement is a network of thousands of local groups and millions of activists across every state. The Indivisible Project drives campaigns for bold progressive policies, lobbies Congress, and equips activists with tools to build lasting progressive power, everywhere. Together, we fight to defeat the rightwing takeover of American government and build an inclusive democracy.