U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito suggested in recent remarks that the court is unlikely to overturn the 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, even though he personally opposed the ruling.
Alito, a member of the court’s six-member conservative majority, made the remarks on Oct. 3 at an academic conference hosted by the C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of Government and State Affairs at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law.
In his speech, Alito mentioned: Obergefell The decision on marriage equality also praised what he called the “bright future” of constitutional originalism, the idea that the Constitution should be interpreted as the Framers intended when they drafted it in 1787.
According to USA TodayAlito has repeatedly described himself as a “working judicial originalist” who “has an original purpose while working within the framework of our legal system.”
Aiming for Obergefell In response to this decision, Alito urged his fellow textualists to consider how ordinary Americans understood the nation’s founding words two centuries ago. The ruling, which struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage, showed how judges can “read certain constitutional provisions too quickly, reifying broad and abstract principles and justifying consequences that would have surprised those who framed and ratified those provisions,” he argued.
Although Alito reiterated his past criticism of the ruling, he was careful not to suggest that the 2015 ruling should be overturned, even though he personally opposes same-sex marriage.
“I’m not saying we should overturn the decision in that case,” Alito said. “I have to say that so that nothing I say today will be misunderstood.”
Mr. Alito wrote the court’s opinion as follows: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — 2022 judgment overturned Roe vs. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion. He noted that overturning precedent in this case would not have the same implications for same-sex marriage.
“Obergefell “This is court precedent that is entitled to be respected by the stare decisis doctrine,” Alito said. dobbsmultiple times, empty dobbs I was trying to block that decision. ”
In a 2020 speech, Alito argued: Obergefell He said this outcome was inevitable given the judgment’s departure from the principle of originalism, although it jeopardizes the free speech rights of those who oppose same-sex marriage.
An appointee of President George W. Bush, he has frequently opposed court rulings expanding LGBTQ rights, arguing that they infringe on the freedoms of social conservatives. For example, he objected to: Bostock v. Clayton Countya 2020 ruling found that LGBTQ employees are protected from workplace discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Mr. Alito joined the majority in a lawsuit that allowed a website designer to deny wedding-related services to a same-sex couple and a bakery to refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
Last year, he issued a statement in a case the high court refused to hear, arguing that excluding jurors who express anti-LGBTQ bias from discrimination cases constitutes “discrimination” against Christians. He added that the incident “illustrates the danger” to religious conservatives. Obergefell Ruling.
Still, many court observers believe Alito, and perhaps a majority of the court, will ultimately reject former Kentucky official Kim Davis’ challenge to overturn it. Obergefell.
Davis and her lawyers, working with the anti-LGBTQ group Liberty Counsel, argue that her lawsuit is the ideal vehicle to overturn it. Obergefellwhich they claim was wrongly determined and forced people like Davis to violate their religious beliefs.
But court observers note that the key issue in Ms. Davis’ legal challenge is not whether a same-sex marriage violates her religious beliefs, but whether she is obligated to pay damages to one member of a same-sex couple who denied her permission to marry. Most experts believe that only Mr. Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas will vote to hear the case, but Mr. Alito’s recent comments suggest that he is unlikely to vote.
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Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
