Thread by @LambdaLegal

Today is day two of irresponsible, illegitimate Senate #SCOTUSHearings for Amy Coney Barrett, Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee.

REMINDER: Her MANY writings/statements over the years confirm her hostility to civil rights. She has NO PLACE on the Supreme Court.

#BlockBarrett

.@LindseyGrahamSC begins the day with a 5-minute (and counting) diatribe on the apparent horrors of the Affordable Care Act.

FACT CHECK: The ACA ensures health insurance for 130 million people with preexisting conditions (including millions of #COVID19 survivors).

#BlockBarrett

Graham asks Barrett to define her philosophy as an Originalist: “I interpret the Constitution['s ...] text as text, I understand it to have the meaning that it had at the time people ratified it.”

The Constitution's "text" codifies slavery (among other things). 🙃

#BlockBarrett

Amy Coney Barrett just refused to admit whether or not she'd rule to overturn Obergefell (marriage equality) by giving an evasive, ambiguous answer about whether or not a case challenging it would even make it to the Supreme Court to begin with.

#BlockBarrett #SCOTUSHearings

Barrett on the late Justice Scalia: "His philosophy is mine too."

Scalia on the marriage equality decision: "The Supreme Court...has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

#BlockBarrett

.@SenFeinstein: "Do you agree with Justice Scalia's view that Roe (v Wade) was wrongly decided?"

Judge Barrett: "I can't express views on cases or commit to approaching a case any particular way."

Why is it so hard to just say "no"?

We know why.

#BlockBarrett #SCOTUSHearings

Don't forget: You can watch the #SCOTUSHearing live right here.

#OurCourt #BlockBarrett twitter.com/i/events/13156…

Here's everything you need to look out for in this week's #SCOTUSHearings. #BlockBarrett #OurCourt lambdalegal.org/blog/20201012_…

.@SenFeinstein again presses Judge Barrett on her views on marriage equality.

She refuses to answer, over and over again.

Her prior statements (supporting “marriage and family founded on the indissoluble commitment of a man and a woman) speak for her.

#BlockBarrett

IMPORTANT:

Barrett used "sexual preference" (not "sexual orientation") when discussing her views on marriage equality.

This is a dogwhistle. The term "sexual preference" is used by opponents of equality to suggest that being #LGBTQ is a choice.

#BlockBarrett #SCOTUSHearing

As we've already said: The Supreme Court is only effective and legitimate if it has the respect and confidence of the people of this country.

Packing it with extremists like Amy Coney Barrett does the opposite. She was selected *BECAUSE* of her partisan views.

#BlockBarrett

Amy Coney Barrett was a legal fellow with notorious anti-#LGBTQ hate group, Alliance Defending Freedom. @SenatorLeahy asks if she is aware of their decades-long fight against marriage equality.

Her answer: No.

Here's a screenshot we just took from their website.

#BlockBarrett

Amy Coney Barrett just called her experience of speaking before the Alliance Defending Freedom "wonderful."

ADF’s advocacy overseas defends criminalization of homosexuality and supports forced sterilization of transgender people.

#BlockBarrett #SCOTUSHearings

Thank you @SenatorLeahy for asking Judge Barrett, yet again, if she agrees with the Supreme Court's Obergefell marriage equality decision.

Her refusal to answer the question speaks for itself.

#BlockBarrett #SCOTUSHearing

This is an important distinction.

#BlockBarrett

https://twitter.com/Sifill_LDF/status/1316034839917756420

👇👇👇

#BlockBarrett

https://twitter.com/NARAL/status/1316045084203327494

.@MikeLeeforUtah just spent a WHILE arguing about "court packing" (his definition: adding more Justices to SCOTUS).

THIS IS A DISTRACTION

He & his colleagues were perfectly happy w/ 8 Justices on the bench FOR OVER A YEAR by refusing to confirm Merrick Garland.

#SCOTUSHearings

Thank you @SenWhitehouse for saying what we all know:

Amy Coney Barrett was nominated to the Supreme Court so that she could rule against:
➡️ LGBTQ rights
➡️ Reproductive rights
➡️ Health care

#SCOTUSHearings #BlockBarrett

"We should be doing something else right now. We shouldn't be doing this. We should be passing Coronavirus relief, like the House just did."

EXACTLY! THANK YOU, @amyklobuchar!

This hearing is a sham.

#BlockBarrett #SCOTUSHearings

"Supreme Court rulings rule peoples lives. They decide if they can get married."

Many this week have discussed how SCOTUS should not be a political body. And it's true.

But the fact is that SCOTUS interprets laws. And those interpretations impact real people.

#BlockBarrett

.@amyklobuchar, speaking to Judge Barrett:

"You suggested that you agreed with the dissent in the marriage equality case Obergefell, that it wasn't the role of the Court to decide that same-sex couples had the right to be married."

It's true. She did.

#BlockBarrett

Barrett says that as an Originalist she reads law "with the meaning people would have understood it to have at the time that it was ratified."

In 1788, Constitutional rights were not recognized for Black people, women, #LGBTQ people, & more.

In 2020, they are.

#BlockBarrett

Religious group ≠ hate group. The two should not be conflated.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, however, is a @splcenter-certified hate group.

Amy Coney Barrett has been paid to speak for them multiple times.

She says her experiences were "fun."

#BlockBarrett #SCOTUSHearings

Clarification: She was not a fellow. She was paid to speak during a summer fellowship program.

Thank you @maziehirono for entering our letter of opposition for Barrett's nomination into the official Senate record w/ @JACL_National & @NAPAWF!

Her confirmation would be a threat to #LGBTQ people, women, & so many more.

Read it here ➡️ lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal…

#BlockBarrett

@maziehirono @JACL_National @NAPAWF WATCH: @maziehirono grills Judge Barrett on her use of the offensive term "sexual preference" earlier today and her praise for self-proclaimed "mentor" Justice Scalia, who issued multiple SCOTUS opinions against #LGBTQ rights throughout his career.

#BlockBarrett #SCOTUSHearings

WATCH: @CoryBooker references our case on behalf of Michael Ely while questioning Judge Barrett.

Michael & Spider were together for 43 years but could not legally marry until 2014. Spider passed 6 months later. Michael was denied survivor's benefits.

➡️ lambdalegal.org/blog/20200527_…

"Those who rely on the ACA are afraid of their lives being turned upside down if the court strikes it down."

Thank you @KamalaHarris for illustrating the danger of confirming a SCOTUS Justice who's hostile to healthcare protections. Millions of lives are at stake.

#BlockBarrett

That's a wrap on day two of #SCOTUSHearings for Amy Coney Barrett.

We'll see you again bright and early tomorrow morning. We have one more round of @senjudiciary questions and then Thursday will be witness statements.

Here's what to look out for. lambdalegal.org/blog/20201012_…