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By Mandy Taheri
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Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, 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 push the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
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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.
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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 confirmation hearings she used the term "sexual preference" to describe members of the LGBTQ+ community, which Senator Mazie Hirono described as "offensive and outdated." Barrett later apologized.
Barrett, who identifies as a "faithful Catholic," has previously held leadership roles in Catholic organizations, including Trinity Schools Inc., which is affiliated with the People of Praise. Before Barrett joined the school board, and during her tenure, it promoted policies that effectively barred admission for children of same-sex parents, taking a strong anti-LGBTQ+ stance.
Newsweek has reached out to GLAAD via email for comment and filed an online contact form with the Supreme Court on Friday.
She has highlighted Chief Justice John Roberts' dissenting opinion in Obergefell, which said that the constitution didn't speak to the question and thus it wasn't the court's place to decide.
During a November 2016 lecture, she told the audience the dissent "said that those who want same-sex marriage, you have every right to lobby in state legislatures to make that happen, 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."
In 2015, Barrett signed a letter titled "Letter to Synod Fathers from Catholic Women" sent to Catholic bishops that states: "We give witness that the Church's teachings...on the meaning of human sexuality, the significance of sexual difference and the complementarity of men and women; on openness to life and the gift of motherhood; and on marriage and family founded on the indissoluble commitment of a man and a woman."
On Thursday, North Dakota became the first state this year where a measure urging the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell passed the House and advanced to the Senate, but ultimately failed. The state Senate, which only has five Democratic members, voted against the Republican-sponsored resolution in a 31-16 vote.
Meanwhile, state legislatures are still considering similar proposals in Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
Same-sex marriage rights were bolstered in late 2022 when Congress passed, and President Joe Biden signed into law, the Respect for Marriage Act. The law "requires that interracial and same-sex marriage must be recognized as legal in every state in the nation," the president said. Notably, 12 Republican senators, and 39 GOP House members voted in favor of the legislation.
What People Are Saying
Representative Ayanna Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat, wrote on X ahead of her hearing in September 2020: "Amy Coney Barrett's long history of anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-immigrant statements and decisions make her fundamentally unfit to serve on the Supreme Court."
Piers Morgan, an English broadcaster, wrote in an X post in October 2020: "Congrats to new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. She proved in her confirmation hearings she is incredibly well qualified for the job. Democrat squealing about her is as hypocritical as it's pathetic. They'd all be saying the complete opposite if it was one of their own."
GLAAD, an LGBTQ rights advocacy group, wrote in a September 2020 post: "Amy Coney Barrett's anti-LGBTQ views would be destructive on the Supreme Court and to the lives of LGBTQ Americans. Rights that we've fought so hard for are on the line: from marriage equality, to abortion rights, to non-discrimination protections in the workplace."
What Happens Next?
North Dakota's resolution failed on Thursday. However, there are other resolutions still pending in a handful of state legislatures across the country. These resolutions do not hold legal weight but signal sentiment.
Barrett has recently received backlash from some Make American Great Again (MAGA) supporters after siding with the court's liberal judges in a ruling against the Trump administration over payments to foreign aid organizations. The justice has sided with the liberals on multiple occasions, causing some pundits to view her as more moderate member of the conservative majority.
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