Statement of Equality Illinois on the Nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court:
July 9, 2018
We at Equality Illinois will work with our state and national partners to analyze Judge Kavanaugh’s record and call our community to action in the coming days. We will fight and resist an anti-LGBTQ nominee who would try to turn back the clock on our civil rights. The history of LGBTQ people demonstrates that we know how to show up, speak up, and fight back.
Judge Kavanaugh’s record must adhere to our core constitutional values: equal protection under the law, the dignity of each person, and the freedom to be who you are without burden or discrimination. This is particularly critical now, at a time when the civil rights of LGBTQ people are under attack by the Trump Administration.
Judge Kavanaugh’s record and independence should be deliberately and seriously scrutinized and evaluated to ensure his commitment to those core constitutional values. And the United States Senate must do its job and be faithful to our constitutional values and to the rights of the American people.
Federal courts have played critical roles in helping to advance the civil rights of LGBTQ people, including decriminalizing same-sex relationships, fighting anti-LGBTQ discrimination, defending the freedom to marry, and protecting transgender students in schools. These ruling have recognized our shared American values of equality, dignity, and the freedom to be who we are without burden or discrimination.
The opponents of equality want to transform our federal court system into instruments that would turn back the civil rights clock and allow a broad right to discriminate in public life against LGBTQ people and other historically marginalized communities. They are currently one justice away from that power, which is why scrutiny of this nominee’s jurisprudence is critical for our community.
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