A little over two years ago, Justice Amy Coney Barrett was rapidly confirmed and sworn into the United States Supreme Court. For example, check Stephanie Kirchgaessner’s The Guardian piece “Amy Coney Barrett requested to walk away from LGBT rights case due to religious affiliation” for evidence that animosity towards Amy Coney Barrett continues to be aimed at her because of her views.
The oral arguments for the case 303 Creative LLC v Elenis are scheduled on December 5, and former members of the People of Praise organization have said that Barrett should disqualify herself from the lawsuit because of her involvement with the group. After losing in July at the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, the Supreme Court agreed to hear her case in February.
Legal representation for site developer Lori Smith is being provided by Alliance Defending Freedom, Inc. (ADF). According to Smith, Colorado anti-discrimination legislation is infringing on her First Amendment rights since it requires her to serve same-sex couples through the internet despite her moral objections.
Christian baker Jack Phillips has spent years in court, all the way to the Supreme Court, defending his right to refuse to produce cakes that violate his religious convictions and the defective anti-discrimination statutes under which he was tried. Cakes for same-sex weddings and other celebrations, including those involving a gender transformation, are not excluded from this category.
Barrett is on the board of Trinity Schools Inc., which has been described as “a private collection of Christian schools associated with the People of Praise,” an affiliation that has been deemed problematic by some former members of the group.
Kirchgaessner not only recommended the essay but also advocated for it in a contentious tweet in which she claimed that her participation in the group was “off limits as a topic during her confirmation.” At some point, talk turned to Barrett’s religious background at home.
Barrett was nominated to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in September 2017, and California Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein said during her confirmation hearing that “the dogma lives loudly inside you.”
Barrett’s religious convictions have been attacked by many on the left, including those at the Washington Post, Reuters, Newsweek, MSNBC, CNN, and elsewhere on social media. The print edition of POLITICO featured an editorial titled “Why Amy Coney Barrett’s Religious Beliefs Shouldn’t Be Off Limits.”
For more on the media and political attacks against Barrett because of her faith, see the American Presidency Project’s translation of a news release from Trump’s 2020 campaign. A CNN article from September 2020 with the heading “Democrats debate how to handle Trump’s likely Supreme Court pick given the past outrage over Barrett’s faith” quotes Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) as saying “no” when asked if Barrett’s faith should be off limits.
In that article, published during the month of her confirmation hearing in October 2020, Kirchgaessner also expressed her disapproval of Barrett and People of Praise.
Even worse, once Barrett and her family revealed their decision to adopt two children from Haiti, the left got nasty and personal in their attack on them.
Some users vented their frustrations over the legal system on Twitter.
Amy Coney Barrett was a top trending topic on Monday because of Kirchgaessner’s article.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah for the Republican Party, tweeting from his verified account (@BasedMikeLee).