President Donald Trump is expected to
nominate Amy Coney Barrett to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on
the Supreme Court.
According to The New York Times,
Trump will announce his choice on Saturday.
Ginsburg, who died last week at the age
of 87, played a pivotal role in cases that struck down state laws
that criminalized gay sex (Lawrence), found same-sex couples
have a constitutional right to marry (Obergefell), and
expanded the definition of sex in federal law to include sexual
orientation and gender identity (Bostock).
While Republicans blocked President
Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee in 2016 – arguing that eight
months was too close to an election – Trump will be announcing his
nominee 38 days before the general election.
LGBT organizations on Friday came out
against Barrett's nomination.
“If she is nominated and confirmed,
Coney Barrett would work to dismantle all that Ruth Bader Ginsburg
fought for during her extraordinary career,” said Alphonso David,
president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). “An appointment of
this magnitude must be made by the president inaugurated in January.
The Human Rights Campaign fervently opposes Coney Barrett's
nomination, and this sham process.”
Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings said in
a statement that Barrett's confirmation “will unleash a Supreme
Court majority that is hostile to all of our basic civil rights, and
the impact will be felt for decades.”
“Judge Barrett’s personal belief
that marriage is between a man and a woman, coupled with her
unwillingness to affirm that the Supreme Court’s decision making
marriage equality the law of the land is settled law, should sound
the alarm for anyone who cares about LGBTQ people and their
families,” Jennings said. “However, her cramped so-called
'originalist' view of the Constitution threatens the civil rights of
not just LGBTQ people but a host of others, including women and
people of color, who have relied on the courts to make progress in
the fight for equality and justice.”
Equality California Executive Director
Rick Chavez Zbur called Barrett an “anti-LGBTQ+, anti-choice
extremist.”
“Coney Barrett on the bench of the
nation's highest court would be a nightmare for LGBTQ+ civil rights
for decades to come and her opposition to Roe v. Wade, voting
rights, the ACA, and other progressive decisions are simply
disqualifying,” he said.
“We urge the U.S. Senate to honor
Justice Ginsburg's final wish and block any nomination until after
the inauguration,” he added.