Jersey City Ward E Councilman James Solomon is slamming the “rigged Supreme Court”for their decision in an LGBTQ rights case that allows certain private businesses to refuse services to customers they disagree with under the 1st Amendment.
“Today’s disgraceful decision by the Supreme Court effectively strips millions of LGBTQ+ people across the country of their rights, legalizing discrimination and setting a dangerous precedent for the future of civil rights in America,” Solomon said in a statement late this morning.
“Jersey City prides itself on being the most diverse city in America, with an economy fueled by small businesses and the contributions of hundreds of thousands of people from diverse backgrounds—from immigrants and communities of color to the LGBTQ+ community. My office will do everything in its power to protect the LGBTQ+ community in the entire city, and we will not stand for any form of hatred, bigotry, or discrimination—not from bigoted small businesses, far-right agitators, or the rigged Supreme Court.”
The nine justices, in a 6-3 opinion along party lines, ruled in favor of evangelical Christian web designer Lorie Smith, a web designer who lives in Colorado and refuses to provide websites to gay couples.
“Ms. Smith seeks to engage in protected First Amendment speech; Colorado seeks to compel speech she does not wish to provide. As the Tenth Circuit observed, if Ms. Smith offers wedding websites celebrating marriages she endorses, the State intends to compel her to create custom websites celebrating other marriages she does not,” wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch for the six affirmative Republican votes.
He goes on to say that Colorado’s state anti-discrimination law that would have Smith face sanctions for posting that she will not serve same-sex couples “is an impermissible abridgement of the First Amendment’s right to speak freely.”
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas join Gorsuch on the majority opinion, while Justice Sonia Sotomayor penned a dissent joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“Today, the 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,” wrote Sonia Sotomayor.
The Supreme Court has faced harsh criticism from Democrats across the country since yesterday’s decision where they overturned affirmative action for college admissions, who were further angered by the aforementioned decision.
The highest court in the nation also ruled today that President Joe Biden (D) does not have the authority to cancel student loan debt.