Will amy barrett overturn gay marriage

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The incoming Trump Administration threatens the current constitutionality of gay marriage.

The results of the 2024 national election have raised concerns among many married same-sex couples about the legal status of their relationships going forward. Those concerns are warranted. Although it is unlikely couples will be in immediate danger of losing their rights after the unused Administration and Congress take power, the current composition of the U.S. Supreme Court already puts those rights on uncertain footing and the election results may embolden unwelcoming actors looking for opportunities to aim gay couples.

The constitutional right of homosexual couples to partner remains good regulation under the 2015 ruling of Obergefell v. Hodges. It seems likely a majority of the current Supreme Court would not include supported that judgment, however, and the Court’s 2022 conclusion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overruling Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey gives reason to worry that the Court will also refuse to respect Obergefell as precedent.

While the Court is not going to get any better for marriage equalit

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first phrase, has been affiliated with faith organizations, endorsed dissenting opinions, and has spoken on conservative social issues, including same-sex marriage, offering insight into her views on the matter.

Why It Matters

With a seat on the nation's highest court, Barrett's views are relevant to consider as a handful of state legislatures are considering measures proposed by Republicans to shove the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

Conservative Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have previously signaled in a court dissent that the case should be reconsidered. Barrett wasn't on the court during the 2015 Obergefell decision, but has previously discussed the opinion.

What To Know

Barrett's appointment to the bench in 2020, at the tail end of Trump's first term, raised concerns among many LGBTQ+ community members and advocacy groups that she may work to overturn Obergefell.

During her verification hearings she used the term "sexual preference" to describe members of the

Cato at Liberty
Cato at Liberty

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is likely to face Senate questioning regarding her views of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Court’s 2015 decision result that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. Critical senators may point to a public letter Barrett signed five years ago expressing accord with Catholic Church teachings on sexuality and the family. Barrett, for her part, has repeatedly stated in interviews and writings that a judge’s religious faith should not influence her decrees “at all.” More relevant, perhaps, than whether a Justice Barrett would possess been persuaded by Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion in Obergefell itself is her approach to the doctrine of stare decisis, described by colleague Ilya Shapiro as falling somewhere between the approaches of Antonin Scalia, a “faint-hearted originalist” who frequently left in place precedents he deemed wrong, and Clarence Thomas, who accords less weight to such precedents. You can read Assess Barrett on stare decisis in her own words here.

Two years ago I wrote this piece offering eight reasons why, in my view, Obergef

will amy barrett overturn gay marriage

Amy Coney Barrett is an Absolute Threat to LGBTQ Rights

Coney Barrett defended the Supreme Court’s dissenters on the landmark marriage equality case of Obergefell v. Hodges,questioning the role of the court in deciding the case:

[Chief Justice Roberts, in his dissent,] said, those who want same-sex marriage, you have every right to lobby in state legislatures to make that transpire, but the dissent’s view was that it wasn’t for the court to decide...So I think Obergefell, and what we’re talking about for the future of the court, it’s really a who decides question.” - Coney Barrett

Coney Barrett says Title IX protections do not extend to transgender Americans, claiming it’s a “strain on the text” to reach that interpretation:

"When Title IX was enacted, it’s pretty clear that no one, including the Congress that enacted that statute, would have dreamed of that result, at that time. Maybe things own changed so that we should change Title IX, maybe those arguing in favor of this gentle of transgender bathroom access are right. That’s a public policy debate to have. But it does seem to strain the text of the statute to say that Title IX demands it.” - Con

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett said on Monday that any decision made in a gay rights case will result in future consequences to similar cases.

On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the 303 Artistic LLC v. Elenis case, which was brought to the Court by a web designer based in Colorado.

The designer, 38-year-old Lorie Smith, filed a lawsuit against Colorado arguing that she has the First Amendment right to decline same-sex couples of her services because of her own religious beliefs.

During a portion of the oral arguments, Barrett spoke about possible hypothetical similar cases, such as a newspaper that would only promote same-sex marriage announcements, instead of promoting both homosexual and opposite-sex marriages announcements.

"However we decide this case obviously applies to others," Barrett said during the oral arguments. "What if we say it's a gay rights group that wants to publish male lover rights announcements, online, all year round, not just for Gay Pride month, because it wants to celebrate love in that community."

The comments by Barrett and oral arguments heard on Monday come amid concern that the Supreme Court could seek to overturn the Obergef