Statement
Statement From Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich on SCOTUS Decision Impacting LGBTQ+ Rights, Student Loan Debt
For Immediate Release: Friday 30 June
Today the Supreme Court continued to show it is driven by far-right extremism, further allowing discrimination under a false veneer of free speech protections. A decision like this supporting prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community being announced on the last day of Pride Month is a powerful symbol regarding the current Court’s majority sensibilities.
To quote Justice Sonia Sotomayor, “the immediate, symbolic effect of the decision is to mark gays and lesbians for second-class status.”
It is difficult to estimate at this point the complete impact this ruling will have, including on some operations within County government. However, it is immediately clear that it will have a detrimental impact and reflects that we are currently living under the dictates of the most reactionary Supreme Court I have ever witnessed in my lifetime.
Justice Elena Kagan summarized it well in her dissenting opinion on another of today’s rulings by stating, “In every respect, the Court today exceeds its proper, limited role in our Nation’s governance.”
The ruling by the Court against President Biden’s action to cancel more than $400 billion of student loan repayment will also have real life destructive consequences for millions of young adults who have had their education impacted by both a pandemic and inflationary costs. Addressing crippling and unfair student debt is and remains critical to our nation’s economic recovery and future vitality.
As we are about to celebrate the 4th of July, it is a good reminder that this nation, while born with ideals of freedom and liberty, has ongoing gaps in the practice of those ideals. The decisions of this Court reflect an ideology to further inequality and reduce protections for those who want to live in this country. This is a dangerous court consistently making bad decisions.
These decisions are a blow to the ideals of fairness and equity that so many of us cherish. And they are a reminder to me of how fortunate I am to be County Executive of a county where residents value and embrace our diversity and fight for justice and equality.
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Release ID: 23-015