SCOTUS Decision Is Cruel, Cynical Tactic to Undermine LGBTQ+ Rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mattie Goldman, [email protected]

WASHINGTON — Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 303 Creative LLC and Lorie Smith v. Aubrey Elenis:

“If a business is open, it must be open to everyone — no matter where they’re from, what they look like, or whom they love. Today’s decision sets a dangerous precedent making it easier for businesses to discriminate. As Justice Sotomayor notes in her dissent, ‘[t]he Court, for the first time in its history, grants a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class.’” 

“We are disappointed that six justices fell for the cynical, manufactured attempt to manipulate the First Amendment in order to make it easier to exclude LGBTQ+ people from public life. As a bigoted few work to promote hatred and pass laws targeting LGBTQ+ people, it’s imperative that the civil rights community works together with legislators and businesses to condemn this dangerous decision. We will not let this ruling turn back the clock on progress. We will continue to fight for the right to love, to marry, to celebrate, to be served, and the freedom to be whomever we want to be.” 

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 250 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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