Fragile Republicans think Kamala Harris officiating a lesbian wedding is a threat to ‘American values’
The National Organisation for Marriage said their values are ‘at stake’ and showed a video of Kamala Harris officiating at a same-sex wedding (YouTube)
Republicans are using footage of Kamala Harris officiating at a lesbian wedding to warn them that their values are “at stake”.
The video, released by the anti-LGBT+ National Organisation for Marriage, urges senators to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court to protect Christian values.
In one section, the video shows Democratic vice-presidential candidate Harris officiating at the same-sex wedding of Kris Perry and Sandy Stier in 2013.
The women were responsible for challenging Proposition 8, an anti-same-sex marriage amendment in California that was ultimately found to be unconstitutional.
Kamala Harris officiated at the wedding of a lesbian couple who helped overturn a ban on same-sex marriage in California.
After the women successfully challenged the proposition, which effectively banned marriage equality in California, they tied the knot in San Francisco City Hall with Harris, who was then attorney general, officiating.
It was a groundbreaking moment for the LGBT+ community in California – but seven years on, Republicans are trying to use it to get Barrett, a staunchly anti-LGBT+ Catholic judge, onto the Supreme Court.
The National Organisation for Marriage video shows Harris officiating at the wedding with the message: “All our issues are at stake,” followed by a second message that reads: “Marriage. Life. Religious liberty.”
The video concludes: “The Senate must confirm judge Amy Coney Barrett,” and asks Republicans to call their senators and urge them to confirm Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Amy Coney Barrett is a staunchly anti-LGBT+ Roman Catholic.
US president Donald Trump announced on Saturday, 26 September, that Barrett was his nominee to fill the seat left vacant by Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she died on 18 September.
Many LGBT+ people have expressed concerns after Barrett was named as Trump’s nominee.
A part-time University of Notre Dame law professor, Barrett has previously said she believes marriage is between a man and a woman.
In 2015, she signed a letter to the Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family, declaring support for “the Church’s teachings… on the meaning of human sexuality, the significance of sexual difference and the complementarity of men and women”.
In 2017, she was grilled by Democratic senators during her confirmation hearing to become a United States circuit judge on whether her staunch Catholic beliefs would affect her judgement on issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion.
At the time, 27 LGBT+ rights groups opposed her confirmation in an open letter, expressing concern that “her religiously-infused moral beliefs would inform her judicial decision-making”.
If Barrett is confirmed by the Senate, the Supreme Court would shift to a strong 6 to 3 conservative majority which could remain in place for decades.
