Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is facing increasing pressure as a controversial case pitting the rights of business owners who oppose same-sex marriage against LGBTQ rights begins on Monday.
The case, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, was brought forward by a Colorado Christian web designer who claims she has a First Amendment right to refuse to create websites for same-sex couples' weddings on the basis of her religious faith, despite a state anti-discrimination law.
Lorie Smith, the designer, says that Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act forces her to act against her faith—she believes that marriage is "only between one man and one woman"—and violates her right to free speech.
Smith went to the state's federal court in 2016, and when her arguments were later refused by the U.S. Court of Appeal for the 10th Circuit, she brought the case to the highest court of the land.
For weeks, Barrett, a devout Catholic, has been asked to recuse herself from the case in view of her conservative religious beliefs which put her at odds with LGBTQ rights.
Former members of People of Praise, a secretive Christian group of which Barrett is reported to be a member, called for the justice to step back from hearing the case, saying her "lifelong and continued" affiliation with the group would make her too biased to fairly judge a case like 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis.
The former member of the group cited Barrett's previous role on the board of Trinity Schools Inc., a group of Christian private schools that, according to media reports, effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents.
"The People of Praise has deeply entrenched, anti-gay values that negatively affect the lives of real people, including vulnerable youth. These values show up in the everyday policies of the People of Praise and their schools," said Kevin Connolly, a former member of the People of Praise who is the brother of the group's chief spokesperson, told The Guardian.
"They are policies that are way outside the mainstream, and most Americans would be disturbed by them," he said.
Last month, Paul Collins, legal studies and political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told Newsweek that there was "essentially no chance Justice Barrett will recuse herself from the case based on the calls from former People of Praise members to do so."
As predicted by Collins, Barrett didn't recuse herself from the case, nor has she acknowledged her affiliation to the People of Praise group.
Activists are concerned that if the Supreme Court backs Smith's claims the consequences would be explosive, with the rights of the LGBTQ community, as well as that of Black people, immigrants and other minority groups becoming vulnerable to future discrimination on the basis of religious beliefs.
Newsweek reached out to People of Praise and the Supreme Court for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
