United for Democracy Coalition Statements on recent Supreme Court Rulings
🗽A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.
People Power United is a proud member of the United for Democracy Coalition which recently made the following statments on the recent Supreme Court decisions.
303 Creative v. Elenis
SUPREME COURT ONCE AGAIN SIDES WITH EXTREMISTS TO PUT BIGOTRY OVER JUSTICE AND FREEDOM
30 June 2023
Washington, D.C.– Today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis, making it easier for businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ Americans. This decision opens the doors to states reversing their anti-discrimination laws ensuring that LGBTQ Americans do not have equal rights under the law.
Stasha Rhodes, Campaign Director of United for Democracy, released the following statement on behalf of the coalition in response to the ruling:
“For decades our laws have affirmed the basic principle that businesses open to the public should be truly open to the public, so that every American has equal access to the commercial marketplace. In its decision today, the Supreme Court once again ignored longstanding precedent to impose its own right-wing ideological biases on our country, granting businesses the right to discriminate against LBGTQ+ individuals and opening the door to more discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, women, people with disabilities, and against people based on their faith. As extremists on the Supreme Court try to warp our laws and constitution to reflect their own agenda, United for Democracy will keep sending this message: Congress, it’s time to act and check the power of this extreme Supreme Court.”
Tony Hoang, Executive Director of Equality California, released the following statement in response to the ruling:
“The overwhelming majority of the American people believe that when you open a business, you must be open to all. But today the Court gave businesses across the country a license to discriminate against LGBTQ+ customers and their families.
This was, in essence, a fake case concerning an imaginary conflict that was specifically engineered to usher in today’s radical, reckless ruling that is out of touch with the majority of the country. We must remain vigilant not to succumb to this manufactured division.
That’s why we’re joining forces with more than 100 partners through United for Democracy to make the Court work for the people and uphold our laws,” said Tony Hoang, Executive Director of Equality California. The overwhelming majority of the American people believe that when you open a business, you must be open to all. But today the Court gave businesses across the country a license to discriminate against LGBTQ+ customers and their families.
Josie Caballero, The National Center for Transgender Equality released the following statement:
“Today, the Supreme Court made yet another decision that should alarm us all: the decision to allow businesses in the United States to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community. Siding with 303 Creative is a blatant attempt to disregard our freedoms. We cannot allow extremists on the court to decide how we operate as customers just because of who we are or who we love.
“At the National Center for Transgender Equality, we lead the U.S. Transgender Survey project, where we see, understand, and celebrate transgender people’s lived experiences across the country. We know that our community is woven into the fabric of small towns and big cities. We should not have to fight for the right to be treated as equal members of these communities that we serve, care for, and build our lives in. We demand our leaders to do better, from state legislatures that have systematically pushed through anti-trans bills, all the way to the extremist Supreme Court justices sitting on the bench.
“That’s why we’re joining the 100+ partners in United for Democracy. It’s time to stand up against this extreme Supreme Court and call on Congress to take immediate action.”
Biden v. Nebraska
EXTREME SUPREME COURT PUTS BIG BANKS AND BILLIONAIRE BENEFACTORS AHEAD OF STUDENTS; “POLITICIANS IN ROBES” ONCE AGAIN OVERTURN WILL OF PEOPLE
30 June 2023
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in the Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown, blocking President Biden’s student debt relief plan which would allow nearly 40 million Americans to qualify for up to $20,000 of student debt relief. This decision disproportionately harms BIPOC borrowers and opens the door to future challenges to policies made by the President.
Stasha Rhodes, Campaign Director of United for Democracy, released the following statement on behalf of the coalition in response to the ruling:
“Today extreme justices continued to side with big banks and right-wing politicians who expect their friends on the Court to overrule policies they don’t like. As a result, nearly 40 million Americans struggling with crushing student loan debt may never get the relief they were promised – and that the executive branch has the authority to give. We don’t need politicians in robes grabbing more power for themselves, we need a Supreme Court that interprets the law fairly and without bias, and delivers for our students. Congress, it’s time to take action and check the power of this extreme, activist, right-wing Supreme Court.”
Statement from Wisdom O. Cole, National Director, NAACP Youth & College Division:
It is devastating that the cries of Black Americans continue to fall on deaf ears. Students, teachers, parents and politicians have repeatedly demanded relief from the crushing weight of student debt - and this government refuses to listen. We cannot thrive as a nation if we do not close the racial wealth gap. Taking the first step to relieve us from student debt is taking a first step towards true equity in a system that was built against us. We refuse to accept defeat. We refuse to live through a reality where our potential for growth and prosperity is hindered by predatory lenders and passive politicians. No matter what was allegedly decided today — failure is not an option. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to hold the Biden Administration accountable on their promise to make us student debt free in 2023. And we are calling on Congress to hold this rogue Court accountable.”
Mary-Pat Hector, CEO of RISE, issued the following statement:
“In two days, the Supreme Court – which represents an elite few, has dismantled years of hard work by youth and organizers to fight for student debt forgiveness, equitable access to higher education, and basic rights for all Americans regardless of their sexual orientation.
Before this decision, there was already more work to be done to make education accessible. Yet rather than taking a step forward for progress for our communities, the Supreme Court is sending us backwards. Rise will not back down from the fight for the promise of equal access to education.
We will see a future without student debt, and to get to that future, we call on President Biden and Congress to find a path forward for relief for the millions of Americans who were promised it and are counting on it. And we call on Congress to act to rein in the Court.”
Moore v. Harper
UNITED FOR DEMOCRACY: MOORE V. HARPER DECISION RELEASED AS COURT’S LEGITIMACY REMAINS IN QUESTION; WE’RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS
27 June 2023
Washington, D.C. – The US Supreme Court issued a ruling this morning in Moore v. Harper, formally rejecting the “independent state legislature” theory – the idea that the Constitution’s elections clause gives state legislatures nearly unfettered authority to regulate federal elections, without a role for state courts.
Stasha Rhodes, Campaign Director of United for Democracy, issued the following statement:
“For the first time in ages, the Court’s legitimacy is under real scrutiny. The public is fed up. People understand that our democracy is weak when in the hands of extremely partisan, scandal-rocked justices who regularly ignore ethics and judicial norms. This message is coming through loud and clear, and the decision to reject the independent state legislature theory shows that the extreme majority is increasingly concerned about growing public pressure. The Court may be beginning to pull back from the brink of some of the most egregious extremes of the Federalist Society’s agenda, but we are not out of the woods yet. We must not let up and Congress must act.”
U.S. v. Texas
UNITED FOR DEMOCRACY: A SENSIBLE RULING BUT US V. TEXAS ISN’T A WIN FOR DEMOCRACY
23 June 2023
Washington, D.C. – The Supreme Court issued a ruling this morning on United States v. Texas, deciding that the state of Texas does not have the right to overturn President Biden’s immigration policy. In the decision, the Court rejected Texas’s lawsuit seeking to overturn United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas’ immigration enforcement priorities. The Court found that Texas does not have standing for the lawsuit that argued that Homeland Security wasn’t arresting and deporting enough immigrants.
Stasha Rhodes, Campaign Director of United for Democracy, issued the following statement:
“Today, immigrant communities will find temporary relief in the hard-fought outcome in U.S. v. Texas, which prevents Texas and other states from challenging ICE’s enforcement priorities for the time being. That this case was on the docket at all shows how far right the Court has lurched, the outcome notwithstanding. This ruling in no way changes the reality that extremists on today’s Supreme Court have unchecked power to select and rule on cases that either maintain the status quo they’ve helped create, or move our country closer to realizing their right-wing vision. Until Congress puts that power in check, United for Democracy will continue lifting up the voices of Americans who increasingly realize this Court is looking out for itself and its own values, not our nation’s.”
Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice, issued the following statement:
"Today's court ruling should have been painfully obvious to anyone focused on the law. This case should never have gotten this far, but, over the last three years Republican Governors and Attorneys Generals utilized what we call the “anti-immigrant judicial pipeline" to thwart any effort by the Biden Administration to manage our immigration enforcement priorities. At a time when Republicans are relying on the judicial pipeline to end, block or obstruct every other sensible immigration policy, we hope today’s ruling is a signal that on immigration, judges should follow the law and not impose their own politics."
Dinorah Nash, Membership Services Director of Living United For Change in Arizona, issued the following statement:
“When our communities are under attack, whether it be from the state of Texas, the Supreme Court, or ICE itself, we can acknowledge the relief from this decision without backing down in the broader fight. The Supreme Court will continue to decide cases that either maintain the status quo – one of deportations, arrest, imprisonment, and scapegoating of entire communities and nations of people – until Congress acts to end the Court’s unchecked power.”
Haaland v. Brackeen
STATEMENT FROM LIVING FOR UNITED CHANGE IN ARIZONA (LUCHA) ON SCOTUS DECISION TO UPHOLD THE INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT
15 June 2023
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in Haaland v. Brackeen and upheld the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act, protecting indigenous children from being separated from their families.
Faith Ramon, an enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation and Tucson Environmental Justice Campaign Manager for Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) — a member of the United Democracy coalition — released the following statement in response to the ruling:
“Today, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that Native American children should remain with their Native American families. The Indian Child Welfare Act had put an end to years of atrocities that saw children being removed from their homes and placed with non-Native families with no ties to their tribe. The law remains intact in a hard-fought victory led by Indigenous communities.
“We should have never had to hold our breath and fear for our freedoms in the first place — as tribes did for Brackeen, and too many still do as our rights remain in the balance with more decisions on the docket. Two justices today made clear they were ready to harm Indigenous communities and a third opened the door to do so in the future, making it clear the Court’s extreme justices still need to be held accountable. It’s high time that Congress does its job and rein in the Court’s unchecked powers.”
“That’s why we are proud to join United For Democracy, a new campaign to hold the Supreme Court accountable. Despite this sound ruling, we won’t be deterred from fighting for a Court that makes just and equitable decisions.”