Barrett has been criticized by former members of the People of Praise, who believe he has connections to a covert Christian group.
A lot of people are crossing their fingers that Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett will step down from hearing a case on an agency’s handling of LGBTQ couples’ wedding websites.
Barrett’s recusal from the case 303 Creative LLC v. Aubrey Elenis was advocated for by several ex-members of People of Praise, a network of laity Christian communities formed in 1971 in South Bend, Indiana. Arguments before the Supreme Court will commence on December 5th, it was stated.
Barrett, who claims to be a member of the underground religious sect People of Praise, has been silent. Trump’s appointee in 2020 told senators that her religious beliefs would not affect her ability to be unbiased on the bench. Those who hold conservative views saw this as an inappropriate exploitation of her faith.
But there are renewed questions about the justice’s apparent ties to the organization.
Maura Sullivan, 46, told The Guardian that she does not believe that someone in her position within the People of Praise group is capable of setting aside their biases in order to make a decision like the one that will shortly be made. Sullivan attended a People of Praise congregation as a child. Sullivan, a bisexual, claims her parents rejected her and forbade her to spend time alone with her younger sister when she came out to them when she was 19 years old. As a result of their separation from the People of Praise, the parents have reunited.
Lorie Smith, founder and sole proprietor of 303 Creative LLC, is adamantly opposed to same-sex marriage and has requested a disclaimer to that effect be included on the business’s website.
The Colorado AntiDiscrimination Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of a wide range of characteristics, including sexual orientation, in public places, and the court must decide if this statute violates the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause. Smith maintains that she has done work for LGBTQ clients that does not conflict with her values.
“a success for Lori would not just be a win for her,” Smith’s lead attorney Kristen K. Waggoner told The Washington Examiner, “but it would also be a win for the LGBT graphic designer who doesn’t want to be coerced to generate work and promote beliefs that they disagree with.”
Barrett’s stint on the board of Trinity Schools Inc., a firm with links to People of Praise, has been heavily utilized by those who “survived” the organization. In that year, Barrett won a seat on the board and has been there ever since.
In the same year, the faculty handbook said that “homosexual activity” and other types of “blatant sexual immorality” had “no place in the culture of Trinity Schools.” Barrett did not invent this rule, but it has been around for a while. Parents of the same sex are no longer allowed to enroll their children in public schools, according to The Guardian.
“The People of Praise hold strong anti-gay beliefs, which have real-world consequences, especially for youngsters from marginalized communities. The People of Praise practice these ideals in their daily lives through their traditions and educational systems. The vast majority of United States citizens would be surprised to learn of such extreme actions.” Kevin Connolly, a former member of People of Praise, recently spoke with The Guardian about this very topic. Connolly has spoken out about the alleged physical abuse he underwent at the hands of his father, even though his brother is the organization’s official spokesman.
Barrett is not likely to step aside from the case, as is widely acknowledged by both lawyers and judges.
‘Supreme Court justices have opinions and are involved with a lot of organizations, a lot of organizations simply in general,’ Jonathan Entin, a constitutional law professor at Case Western University, told the Examiner.
“There is practically no likelihood Justice Barrett will recuse herself from the case based on the petitions of former members of People of Praise to do so,” Paul Collins, a professor of legal studies and political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told Newsweek.
Collins added that many courts would not even consider cases that even tangentially involved religion because charges of a conflict are “too broad to be relevant” and may apply to participation in a wide variety of religious groups.