Human Rights Campaign: Amy Coney Barrett's Confirmation is a Sham, Threatens LGBTQ Equality

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (TNSRep) -- The Human Rights Campaign issued the following news release:

The Human Rights Campaign released the following statement following the final Senate vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the United States.

"Despite Amy Coney Barrett's troubling anti-LGBTQ record and rhetoric, Senate Republicans rushed through the fastest Supreme Court confirmation process in modern history. This was a power grab, plain and simple, and voters must hold these Senators - and Donald Trump - accountable at the polls," said Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign. "The process was a sham, the hearings were fast-tracked, and once again, Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump have chosen power over people. We must reject this bald power grab and elect officials - especially in the White House and the U.S. Senate - who will ensure our judicial branch lives up to its potential. Voters should hold Sens. Daines, Ernst, Gardner, Graham, McSally, Sullivan and Tillis accountable at the ballot box. Our democracy and our lives depend on it."

The Human Rights Campaign recently released a report on Amy Coney Barrett's troubling record. To read the full report, click here: https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/AmyConeyBarret-Report-100920.pdf?mtime=20201009143457&focal=none

Over the past few weeks, the Human Rights Campaign generated more than 50,000 signatures on a petition opposing Barrett's nomination and more than 50,000 unique contacts into Senate offices.

Barrett has demonstrated hostility toward LGBTQ rights in her words and rulings. She defended the Supreme Court's dissenters on the landmark marriage equality case of Obergefell v. Hodges, questioning the role of the court in deciding the case. She said Title IX protections do not extend to transgender Americans, claiming it's a "strain on the text" to reach that interpretation. She misgendered transgender people, referring to transgender women as "physiological males," while casting doubt on transgender rights. Barrett has also consistently demonstrated opposition to reproductive rights, calling Roe v. Wade an "erroneous decision." She also refused to rehear a racial segregation case, raising significant concerns about her approach to Civil Rights law.

She has criticized the ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act--which has helped millions attain quality, affordable health care--and expressed opinions that suggest she would strike down the law. Days after the election, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear an argument in a case that could undermine this transformative piece of legislation, and with it the health care security of tens of millions of people, including a disproportionate number of LGBTQ people.

The day after Election Day, the Court will hear Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, which considers whether governments must allow taxpayer-funded organizations to discriminate against LGBTQ people when providing critical services. A ruling hostile to equality in this case could have staggering consequences for American social safety net programs including services for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, runaway youth, refugees, and those needing emergency shelters and services.

Her hostility towards many of society's most marginalized, victimized and vulnerable groups raises serious concerns about her ability to be impartial and fairly consider the rights of all who come before the Court, including LGBTQ people.

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REPORT: https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/AmyConeyBarret-Report-100920.pdf?mtime=20201009143457&focal=none