Not satisfied with overturning the constitutional right to abortion, the Supreme Court this term aims to fundamentally destroy generations of other civil rights gains, including voting rights and affirmative action.
Flying under the radar is another case that threatens to turn the tide against the LGBTQ civil rights progress won over the past two decades – 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. This case, if the Court's right wing majority has its way, will permit "Straights only" – the banning of LGBTQs in places of public accommodation.
The plaintiffs in this “Straights Only” case are openly anti-LGBTQ bigots who claim that laws banning discrimination against LGBTQs in places of public accommodation violate their "free speech" and “religious liberty.” In doing so they recycle the same disgusting arguments used by white bigots to oppose equal access to public accommodations by Blacks and others before the landmark legislation won by the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1950s / early 1960s.
While the “Straights Only” case doesn't directly target racial and religious groups' equal access to public accommodations, it isn't hard to see that the attack on LGBTQ rights in this respect puts everyone's rights at risk. It's part of a broad spectrum attack, escalating with last June's dismantling of Roe v. Wade, that jeopardizes the gains that generations of civil rights activists fought and in some cases died for.
Because there's been little media coverage of the "Straights Only" case, it’s imperative that we speak out and begin to raise awareness about this latest threat to our rights.
From Jim Crow laws in the old South to the flurry of anti-Trans bills springing up in state legislatures today, laws and court decisions have deadly consequences in the "real world." When courts and politicians array against us, they give a government encouragement to violence against us.
On Monday, December 5th, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments by both pro- and anti-LGBTQ attorneys. We intend to use that occasion to raise public awareness about the dangers of this case and others with a 12 noon protest / press conference on that day.
Please join us to protest this attack on all of our rights!
RSVP here.