supremely disappointed
Conservatives blast Gorsuch after LGBTQ discrimination decision: 'Among the worst jurists in the history of the United States'
Justice Neil Gorsuch on Monday unexpectedly wrote the majority opinion as the Supreme Court ruled LGBTQ employees are protected from discrimination in the workplace, drawing ire from some on the right.
The Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision on Monday found that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ employees from workplace discrimination, with Gorsuch, who was nominated to the court by President Trump, writing that "an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law." The historic ruling was celebrated by LGBTQ rights advocates, while many social conservatives decried Gorsuch's decision.
"The crisis moment for the 'conservative legal movement' has arrived," tweeted Newsweek's Josh Hammer, who previously said this decision by Gorsuch would be "an unprecedented betrayal." The American Conservative's Rod Dreher, meanwhile, wrote that it's "hard to overstate the magnitude of this loss for religious conservatives," while Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino argued that "Justice Scalia would be disappointed" and that "this was not judging, this was legislating." The Daily Wire's Michael Knowles also declared that conservatives will count Gorsuch as "among the worst jurists in the history of the United States," and Ben Shapiro said Gorsuch made "a bad, outcome-driven legal decision."
Erick Erickson additionally speculated this could damage Trump's re-election prospects, arguing that "all those evangelicals who sided with Trump in 2016 to protect them from the cultural currents, just found their excuse to stay home in 2020." Politico reporter Gabby Orr was skeptical, countering that it "seems likelier that they will attack Gorsuch/the Court than abandon Trump."
Meghan McCain was among those on the right who celebrated the decision, though. And for the Washington Examiner, Brad Polumbo made the case that while "many conservatives may initially be shocked or dismayed" by Gorsuch's decision, it's actually "based on razor-sharp logic, and it is entirely consistent with the conservative commitment to textualism."