President Joe Biden issued strong criticism of the U.S. Supreme Court’s anti-LGBTQ decision Friday that sided with a Colorado evangelical Christian designer who wants to sell wedding websites but only to opposite-sex couples. The Court ruled the First Amendment prohibits the State from “forcing” her to produce websites for same-sex couples, effectively “issuing” a “new license to discriminate,” as Justice Sonia Sotomayor declared in her dissent.
“In America, no person should face discrimination simply because of who they are or who they love. The Supreme Court’s disappointing decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis undermines that basic truth, and painfully it comes during Pride month when millions of Americans across the country join together to celebrate the contributions, resilience, and strength of the LGBTQI+ community,” the President said in a statement from The White House.
Like many others, the President warned that the Court’s decision may be widely applied and harm many across the country.
“While the Court’s decision only addresses expressive original designs, I’m deeply concerned that the decision could invite more discrimination against LGBTQI+ Americans. More broadly, today’s decision weakens long-standing laws that protect all Americans against discrimination in public accommodations – including people of color, people with disabilities, people of faith, and women,” he said.
“My administration remains committed to working with our federal enforcement agencies to rigorously enforce federal laws that protect Americans from discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. We will also work with states across the country to fight back against attempts to roll back civil rights protections that could follow this ruling. And we will accelerate our march towards full equality for every American.”
The President, who has a strong record supporting LGBTQ people, once again called on Congress to pass the Equality Act, which has been languishing for years.
“When one group’s dignity and equality are threatened, the promise of our democracy is threatened and we all suffer. Our work to advance equal rights for everyone will continue. That is why we must pass the Equality Act, which will enshrine civil rights protections for LGBTQI+ Americans in federal law and strengthen public accommodations protections for all Americans. I urge Congress to swiftly send this legislation to my desk.”