Lambda Legal Responds to Confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court

"This is a dark day for our justice system and American democracy. The Supreme Court of the United States… should not be up for a power grab, but that is exactly what happened today."

(Washington, D.C., October 26, 2020) - This evening, with a 52-48 vote, the Senate confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court. In response, Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings issued the following statement:

"This is a dark day for our justice system and American democracy. The Supreme Court of the United States, the court of last resort for justice in our country, should not be up for a power grab, but that is exactly what happened today. Amy Coney Barrett deeply alarmed us during her confirmation hearings when she refused to say whether she believed cases that are the backbone of the legal rights of LGBTQ people-such as Lambda Legal's landmark case, Lawrence v. Texas, which decriminalized same-sex intimacy, and Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage-were correctly decided. We fear that all the progress we have made in recent years is now at risk.

"But as perverse as this nomination and forced confirmation against the will of American voters has been, we are not deterred. We have fought for the rights and dignity of LGBTQ people and everyone living with HIV for almost 50 years, and we will not stop now. Party politics may have prevailed today, but Lambda Legal will continue to fight; our communities can count on that."

Read Lambda Legal's letter to Senate members opposing the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court: https://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/20201022_letter_amy-coney-barrett-opposition-supreme-court-senate

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people, and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.