Same-sex marriage might be at risk in the U.S this 2020.

Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito criticized the high court’s 2015 descion on same-sex marriage. On Monday they suggested that marriage equality be overturned. 

Thomas wrote for himself and Alito, saying that the decision warrants courts and governments to brand religious people who do not believe in same-sex marriage. 

This discussion came up in a case brought by Kim Davis after she was sued for not providing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The justices stated that the Kim Davis case is a reminder of the consequences of the court’s same-sex marriage decision. 

Their statement has evoked dismay in the LGBTQ community and in many other communities Many professionals have spoken out against these words. This includes Yale Law School professor William Eskridge who said that it was alarming that Justices want to overrule a decision that has helped hundreds of thousands of couples “seal their unions in matrimony.” Even James Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the 2015 case, said that the Justices’ statement was deeply disturbing. 

This November the court will hear arguments about same-sex couples and adopting children. The addition of Amy Coney Barrett –a conservative who has publicly opposed same-sex marriage– may push religious rights at the cost of LGBTQ protections.

Sources used:

Ny times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/us/politics/thomas-alito-same-sex-marriage.html 

NPR: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/05/920416357/justices-thomas-alito-blast-supreme-court-decision-on-gay-marriage-rights 

Washington post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/09/22/new-conservative-supreme-court-justice-could-boost-religious-rights-cost-lgbtq-protections/