The Supreme Court justice is back to complaining about LGBTQ people in a recent opinion from the court.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is complaining that people who oppose homosexuality were being unfairly branded as bigots, despite that being a dictionary definition of bigotry.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a case about whether it is legal to exclude potential jurors based on their religion. The case stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Jean Finney, who is lesbian, against her longtime employer, the Missouri Department of Corrections, for workplace discrimination and retaliation due to her sexuality. During jury selection for the trial, which Finney won, her lawyer asked the judge to remove three jurors who had expressed beliefs that homosexuality is a sin. Finney’s lawyer argued their religious beliefs would bias them against LGBTQ people.
The state of Missouri appealed the decision, arguing that the jury selection process had been discriminatory on religious grounds. An appeals court sided with Finney, ruling the jurors had been eliminated due to their beliefs about homosexuality, not because they were Christians. Missouri appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which declined Tuesday to hear the case.
In a statement, Alito said he agreed with the decision not to hear the lawsuit, but warned he felt the case was a harbinger of greater danger.
The appeals court ruling “exemplifies the danger that I anticipated in Obergefell v. Hodges,” Alitio wrote, referring to the landmark 2015 Supreme Court ruling that legalized marriage equality.
“Namely, that Americans who do not hide their adherence to traditional religious beliefs about homosexual conduct will be ‘labeled as bigots and treated as such’ by the government,” he said. “The opinion of the Court in that case made it clear that the decision should not be used in that way, but I am afraid this admonition is not being heeded by our society.”
there’s a push lately to equate being christian with being a violent right-wing bigot by violent right-wing bigots who want to paint any opposition to their bigotry and violence as some sort of movement against christianity. But the thing is, I’m against violent, bigoted Muslims too. And violent, bigoted Atheists. And violent, bigoted Jews. I haven’t met any violent, bigoted Jains but there’s no river long enough that doesn’t have a bend in it and if I ever met a violent, bigoted Jain I’d be against them too. Bigotry isn’t necessary to Christianity and Christianity isn’t necessary to bigotry. The question to these jurors was “Can you apply the law as-written to this case” and several people said “My religious beliefs prevent me from applying the law equally to homosexuals, who I believe are an underclass that needs to be punished.”
Bet if it was a cop on trial they’d have no problem kicking someone off the jury for their ACAB tattoo, or if they were Mennonites who believe that violence is wrong in all cases.