Senators, Advocates Gather to Oppose Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – Today, Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) were joined by advocates to call upon the Senate to oppose the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
The advocates included: Wade Henderson, president and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Nan Aron, president, Alliance for Justice Action Campaign; Michael Keegan, president, People For the American Way; Kimberly McIntosh, a library paraprofessional from Blue Springs, Missouri; and Cameron Blair Hoxie, a special education teacher from Erie, Colorado.
“Do we want to have a judge who believes that there shouldn’t be class action lawsuits because they’re inconvenient for corporations? Do we want to have a judge who rules, as in Hobby Lobby, that a corporation should be able to decide the health care options for its workers?” asked U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley. “On issue after issue after issue, this nominee is a far-right nominee who is against people and for corporations. This is the opposite of the framing message of our constitution: ‘We the People,'” Merkley concluded.
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, “Judge Gorsuch’s record makes it clear that he is the wrong choice for this seat on the Supreme Court. We can’t have another justice who values corporate rights more than individual workers’ rights, who thinks corporations are people, and who doesn’t even trust workers to make their own medical decisions without their bosses interfering. I encourage all of my colleagues to join me in voting against his nomination, and I will continue to insist on a traditional 60-vote threshold for his confirmation.”
“Judge Gorsuch has an obligation – to the Senate and the American people – to fully and candidly answer questions about his troubling record and judicial philosophy,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “Based on our examination of the available evidence, Judge Gorsuch’s decade-long record on the federal bench, as well as his writings, speeches, and activities throughout his career, demonstrate that he is a judge with an agenda. Based on his record, it is clear Judge Gorsuch would serve as a rubber stamp for the president who appointed him.”
“There are many unanswered questions about Judge Gorsuch’s record, and thus far he has refused to shed light on his legal philosophy as he continues to duck relevant questions at his confirmation hearing today,” said Nan Aron, president of Alliance for Justice Action Campaign. “But one thing is clear: this nominee has repeatedly ruled against women, workers, consumers, and everyday Americans who attempt to exercise their rights. We’ve heard from some of these people in recent days and their suffering has put a human face on the harm done by this nominee. If he were confirmed to the Supreme Court, many more Americans would suffer. This nominee should not be confirmed, and we believe that when his record is fully explored, Senators will agree.”
“So far in the hearings, Democratic senators have made clear that they intend to ask tough questions about Judge Gorsuch’s record and that they expect full answers,” said Michael Keegan, president of People For the American Way. “This is important, because we know that Judge Gorsuch is not a moderate nominee. He’s not even a stealth nominee. He’s spent 10 years on the bench amassing a dangerously conservative record and leaving a trail of harmed workers, injured patients, and broken families in his wake. Judge Gorsuch has shown us who he is again and again and again. Even when the law is clear, he’s repeatedly and consistently produced twisted readings to get to the results he wanted.”
“I am greatly alarmed by Supreme Court Nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch’s rulings record against students with disabilities. I am a single mom and my son benefitted from early intervention special education services. Judge Gorsuch has ruled against kids like mine in at least eight out of 10 past cases. He introduces technical and legal road blocks making my kids’ path to success much more difficult, if not impossible,” said Kimberly McIntosh, a library paraprofessional from Blue Springs, Missouri. “My students need more support and resources — not less. That’s why I traveled to Washington and met with my senators. I wanted them to know that there’s a real human face — there’s real impact — of the decisions that are made on Capitol Hill and in the Supreme Court.”
“I was a student with a learning disability. I experienced education from a decidedly different perspective. When you look at the impact Judge Gorsuch has had on education, it is sobering,” said Cameron Blair Hoxie, a special education teacher from Erie, Colorado. “Judge Gorsuch has consistently established legal impediments for students with disabilities. Through his rulings, Judge Gorsuch tells us that students with disabilities should only expect an education that is ever so slightly better than nothing. I am in DC to personally let our Senators know that Judge Gorsuch on the Supreme Court is bad for America. Bad for Colorado and bad for our students.”
Video from today’s event is available here.
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