The U.S. Senate voted 52-48 to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court with every Republican except for Sen. Susan Collins (ME) voting for her and every single Democrat voting against her.
The Supreme Court now has a six-to-three conservative majority; just peeling off one conservative to support equal rights won’t cut it anymore.
Related: LGBTQ couples rush to get married before Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to Supreme Court
And Barrett is unlikely to be that one conservative to break ranks and side with LGBTQ people. A Christian conservative, she has publicly said she opposes LGBTQ equality, volunteered as a trustee at a school that bans LGBTQ people, and even gave paid speeches on behalf of an anti-LGBTQ hate group.
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So it’s no surprise that LGBTQ people on social media last night were less than content about the prospect of the 48-year-old judge getting a lifetime appointment to the high court.
Pete Buttigieg captured the mood: “Vote them out.”
Vote them out.
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) October 27, 2020
HRC’s Charlotte Clymer explained the call to expand the Supreme Court in a thread.
Refresher:
The Constitution does not specify the number of seats on the Supreme Court. This power was left to Congress, which set the Supreme Court's size at one chief justice and five associates in the Judiciary Act of 1789. It was then legally changed seven times. (thread)
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) October 27, 2020
But the bottom line is that if Joe Biden (with the help of a Democratic Senate) increases the size of the Supreme Court to be more representative, Barrett will no longer be part of the majority.
Gonna be really sweet watching Barrett write mediocre dissents for the next 40 years after we expand the courts. https://t.co/ESk4KJdxh0
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) October 27, 2020
Democrats can either expand the Supreme Court or surrender to this for the next forty years. pic.twitter.com/uAeZnOK3vk
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) October 27, 2020
They packed it. We will unpack it.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) October 27, 2020
Donald Trump’s lesbian niece Mary L. Trump agreed.
Expand the Court.
— Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) October 27, 2020
Barrett has been a federal judge since she was first appointed in 2017 and before that she was a professor at the University of Notre Dame, making her one of the least experienced persons nominated to the Supreme Court in decades. RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage noticed.
FACTS ARE FACTS AND WE ARE F***ED https://t.co/TUSClVAWkE
— michelle visage (@michellevisage) October 27, 2020
Partner asked me where he could find a more recent resume for #AmyConeyBarrett and I had to tell him both “nup, that’s it” and “nup, there are no minimum requirements to be a Supreme Court Justice”, which led to Googling why, finding this, and then bleak, hollow laughter pic.twitter.com/yMwqLiWTAA
— Ms D 🌈 (@msdwrites) October 27, 2020
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) reminded her followers that while Senate Republicans refuse to pass COVID relief during the global pandemic, they voted to confirm a judge who analysts believe could vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act and take away health care coverage from millions.
Instead of working to provide COVID-19 relief to struggling Americans, Mitch McConnell and Republicans chose to jam through a Supreme Court nominee—when more than 62 million people have already voted. It’s despicable and they must be held accountable.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 26, 2020
Today Republicans denied the will of the American people by confirming a Supreme Court justice through an illegitimate process—all in their effort to gut the Affordable Care Act and strip health care from millions with pre-existing conditions.
We won’t forget this.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 27, 2020
Drag star Darienne Lake made a similar point.
For the US senate to push through the nomination of #AmyConeyBarrett then adjourn until after the election without a relief package proves they care about THEMSELVES and will NEVER care about you and your family.
— Darienne Lake (@dariennelake) October 27, 2020
A mass marriage for same-sex couples was held over the weekend because of the possibility that Barrett will vote to overturn marriage equality in the U.S., which drove the point home.
Seeing queer couples rushing to get married before #AmyConeyBarrett was confirmed just reminds me that the US really is headed in the direction of the Handmaid's Tale
— Jack Duncan🔻 (@JackDunc1) October 27, 2020
“I, Amy Coney Barrett, swear to faithfully seize women’s reproductive rights, marriage equality, and healthcare for one hundred million Americans with preexisting conditions.” pic.twitter.com/jmkcWJBsS9
— Bryan Behar (@bryanbehar) October 27, 2020
LGBTQ (current and former) elected officials also spoke out on Barrett’s confirmation.
I have no faith in Judge Barrett to respect the progress the #LGBTQ community has worked so hard to achieve. Amy Coney Barrett is a real threat to LGBTQ rights and freedoms. #WhatsAtStake pic.twitter.com/vhhIW7t1bV
— Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) October 26, 2020
Nihilism has a place in art as an expression and outlet of frustration about the worst of humanity.
But nihilism doesn’t protect your civil rights at the ballot box.
We have one week to put a check on the SCOTUS and empower state legislatures to protect our rights.
Let’s win.
— Danica Roem (@pwcdanica) October 27, 2020
Republicans didn’t steal this seat from Democrats. They stole it from the American people, who are voting RIGHT NOW in record numbers.
— Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (@malcolmkenyatta) October 27, 2020
Mitch McConnell and his sham SCOTUS confirmation process are a national disgrace. We lost this round, but we will never give up the fight to protect reproductive rights, healthcare, civil rights, immigrant rights & so much more.
— Lori Lightfoot (@LoriLightfoot) October 27, 2020
Wtf is wrong with these people pic.twitter.com/RPF5P8xrPx
— Katie Hill (@KatieHill4CA) October 27, 2020
So this is all why Chasten Buttigieg wanted major media outlets to listen to LGBTQ people on Barrett’s confirmation.
Put queer people on television tonight. Every network. We’ve got some things to say about this sham process and a judge who will most certainly vote to harm our community.
— Chasten Buttigieg (@Chasten) October 26, 2020
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