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Indeed, I am heartened by where Chief Justice Roberts landed this time. “But no matter what things might look like today, it’s always possible.” It might take decades,” President Obama tweeted, upon news of the decision. “Today reminds us that progress might be slow.
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The nation now is rightly focused, not only on LGBTQ rights, but on how far we - as a nation - have to go when it comes to equality and justice for Black Americans and people of color. In the 6 to 3 decision, written by Neil Gorsuch, there is much to celebrate - not only legal protection for LGBTQ persons in more than 20 states where, until Monday morning, they could be fired simply by virtue of being LGBTQ, but also a sense of collective relief a Court whose membership has changed, and shifted markedly to the right since 2015, seems less likely to roll-back LGBTQ protections that have been hard-won.Įven in that moment of victory for our movement, I felt once again the old wounds of being “less than,” “defective,” invisible, unseen and reduced.Īnd this time, the Chief Justice broke ranks with his conservative colleagues to vote in favor of protecting LGBTQ people. On Monday, LGBTQ advocates won their biggest victory yet. The Supreme Court affirmed that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ Americans from workplace discrimination. His prediction has not fared well over time: support for same-sex marriage has grown from 60% of the population in May 2015 to 67% in June 2020. Stealing this issue from the people will for many cast a cloud over same-sex marriage, making a dramatic social change that much more difficult to accept. In his dissent in Obergefell, Chief Justice Roberts opined:įive lawyers have closed the debate and enacted their own vision of marriage as a matter of constitutional law. The words stung - they were antiseptic, clinical, distant and far removed from lived experience, which, as Justice Holmes wrote long ago, is the “ life of the law.” In this Friday, Jfile photo, people gather in Lafayette Park to see the White House illuminated with rainbow colors in commemoration of the Supreme Court's ruling to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington. Then I read the dissent by Chief Justice Roberts.Įven in that moment of victory for our movement, I felt once again the old wounds of being “less than,” “defective,” invisible, unseen and reduced.
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As I whipped out my computer to read the poetic and sweeping opinion of Justice Kennedy, I remember needing to assure the person next to me, who was growing concerned by the tears and frenzy on my face and phone. And my phone went haywire with texts from friends across the country, ebullient with joy and celebration. As I received the news, happy tears rolled down my face. I was on a bus from Boston to New York City when the decision came down, traveling to spend New York Pride Weekend with friends. In that 5 to 4 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts was in the dissent. On Friday, Jjust five years ago - in the landmark Obergefell case, the Supreme Court declared that marriage equality was a constitutionally-protected right for LGBTQ Americans. (John Lamparski/ NurPhoto via Getty Images) This article is more than 1 year old. People gather at the historic Stonewall Inn to celebrate the LGBTQ victory, in Greenwich Village, a section of New York City, US on June 15, 2020.