Conservatives have us in their sights as next in line after they force us to follow their religious views on abortion. They want to criminalize us again like in the 1950s. They want to overturn Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v Hodges cases, they want to nullify the non-discrimination laws.
Historic Supreme Court confirmation comes at a time when some in the GOP are trying to reverse LGBTQ rights
CNN
Analysis by Brandon Tensley
April 7, 2022
It's a curious time for equality in the US.On the one hand, Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed as the first Black woman US Supreme Court justice on Thursday. On the other hand, there are legitimate concerns about what the future might hold for the members of certain marginalized groups, including LGBTQ Americans.
Take a striking point of contention during Jackson's confirmation hearings last month. Many Republican senators spent part of their questioning time complaining about marriage equality. "The Constitution doesn't mention the word 'abortion,'" said Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, "just like it doesn't mention the word 'marriage.'"
As Slate's Mark Joseph Stern described the situation, Republican senators "used the Jackson hearings to test the waters with Obergefell (v. Hodges), revealing a newly invigorated push for its reversal. And why not? The crusade against Roe seemed hopeless for decades until, suddenly, it didn't."
Make no bones about it… the Republicans hate our guts.
Crucially, LGBTQ equality is being challenged in other ways, too.
Consider the complex role that religion can play in scaling back LGBTQ rights. Last year, in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, the Supreme Court held that Philadelphia can't refuse to contract with Catholic Social Services, an adoption agency that discriminates against same-sex couples. On narrow grounds, the court held that for the city to refuse to work with the agency would violate the free exercise of religion.
Where they are going to drive the wedge to cleave our rights is “Religious Freedom” that is going to be the buzzword.
"What's going on is an attempt to carve out from Obergefell as many religious allowances as possible," Eskridge said. "In Fulton, the Supreme Court overruled the part of Obergefell that said that same-sex marriages must be treated the same by the state -- not necessarily by private people -- as different-sex marriages. The court said, You've got to allow this government delegatee to discriminate against same-sex marriages in a government program."
In short, the deeper agenda is to create religious allowances to discriminate against same-sex marriages via the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Free Exercise Clause and the Free Speech Clause, Eskridge said.
And through that gap of “religious freedom” they are going to tear down all the non-discrimination laws. But with the myopic views that the conservatives by focusing on LGBTQ+ rights they are going to miss the big picture or maybe that is their plan to slash all the non-discrimination laws.
He continued, "So, what's going to become of Bostock in its reasoning? That's big -- big, big, big -- and remains to be seen. Because it depends on Justice John Roberts and Gorsuch, because Roberts is now the fifth vote instead of the sixth vote."
Put another way, maybe the only thing certain about the present-day LGBTQ rights landscape is the fact that parts of it aren't as certain as they might seem at first glance.
We in the trans community have been under a continuous attack for decades with our gay brothers and lesbian sisters has basking in their victories with little caring about the Republicans carving away at our rights. Our losses are their losses but they don’t see it is all one set of roots, we are intertwined. The same thread they are using to unravel trans rights unravels their rights also.
If their “religious freedom” voids LGBTQ+ non-discrimination laws think about this. Do they also void the non-discrimination laws regarding discrimination of unmarried couples?
What about race discrimination? The Bible was used to justify segregation, could it be used again? Could a Christian refuse to serve a Muslim because what the Bible says?
What happens if an inclusive religious person refuses to serve a evangelical religious believer because they discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, whose religious beliefs wins out? Or for that matter does it have to be an organized mainstream religion or can it be “my personally held religious beliefs?
What a can of worms they are opening.
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