Alito’s comments on Pride flag criticized by LGBTQ advocates

LGBTQ advocates are making explosive comments about the Pride flag of Martha-Ann Alito, wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, arguing that it raises serious questions about her husband’s decision-making on issues affecting his community.

“It’s fitting that Mrs. Alito’s attitudes toward the queer community are as antiquated as her flags,” said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), chairman of the Congressional Equality Caucus, in comments that referenced a number of flag controversies surrounding Alitos.

“Many are rightfully concerned about the hyperpartisan views shared by both members of the Alito family, including the judge’s ability to leave his personal political views at home,” Pocan told The Hill in an email. “Americans, especially women and the LGBTQI+ community, deserve to be able to trust that the Supreme Court won’t leave their rights turned upside down and hanging from a flagpole – and right now, I’m not sure they can.”

In comments made public Tuesday, Martha-Ann Alito lamented her neighbor’s Pride flag and expressed a desire to fly the Sacred Heart of Jesus flag in protest while it was being secretly recorded by a liberal activist masquerading as a conservative.

“I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag, because I have to look at the Pride flag across the pond next month,” she said in the secretly recorded conversation at the Supreme Court Historical Society’s annual dinner on June 3.

June, during which LGBTQ Pride Month is celebrated, is also recognized by Catholics as Sacred Heart month.

She added that she had drawn another flag on her head, one that would surround the Italian word for “shame” with yellow and orange flames.

Progressive filmmaker Lauren Windsor made the recording while attending the event as a member of the society under her real name, although she posed as a religious conservative in conversations with Alitos and others, including Chief Justice John Roberts.

The Alitos are facing a separate flag controversy stemming from a New York Times report that the couple flew an “Appeal to Heaven” flag and an inverted American flag at their homes in New Jersey and Virginia. Both flags have been associated with far-right politics, Christian nationalism and the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Trump.

In another secretly recorded conversation with Windsor at the June 3 event, Justice Alito agreed that the U.S. should strive to be a Christian nation. Alito, one of the court’s leading conservatives, has frequently ruled against LGBTQ rights, most recently in a case concerning a Christian web designer who refused to create wedding websites for gay couples.

Alito in 2015 voted against the majority in Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

In February, Alito renewed his criticism of the ruling, writing that the court’s February 20 decision not to hear a case concerning jurors who were dismissed over their objections to same-sex marriage “exemplifies the danger” he predicted in his 2015 dissent.

“Namely, that Americans who do not hide their adherence to traditional religious beliefs about homosexual conduct will be ‘labeled as bigots and treated as such’ by the government,” Alito wrote in February.

The court has not yet decided whether it will take up a case that answers the question of whether state laws prohibiting gender-affirming health care are constitutional, although Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas appear eager to do so.

“In public and private, the Alitos continue to reveal their contempt for LGBTQ people, as well as for basic civility, democracy, judicial ethics, or even the appearance of impartiality,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of the media advocacy organization LGBTQ. GLAAD. “That is what is truly shameful, not the private lives of other Americans who just want to be free from discrimination and unbalanced behavior.”

“A large majority of Americans support LGBTQ equality and are OK with the reality that LGBTQ people are living our lives, working, going to school, and raising families, but members of our community continue to put up with anti-LGBTQ nonsense from extremists in higher levels of government,” Ellis said in an email.

“Pride flags represent diversity and embrace values ​​that encourage safety and acceptance in our increasingly multicultural and multiracial country. Americans must elect responsible leaders who will demand equal justice under the law and respect in everyday life.”

Pride flags have been criticized in recent years by conservatives.

The Colorado Republican Party this month called for Pride flags to be burned, and a fundraising email sent by the state Republican Party with the subject line “God Hates Pride” included a link to a video titled “God Hates Flags ”.

Some Colorado Republicans have called for party leader Dave Williams to resign.

Republicans in Congress have also protested Pride flags displayed on government buildings, and a $1.2 billion spending package signed by President Biden in March includes a GOP-backed provision that bars U.S. embassies from displaying them. . The White House said it is looking for an “opportunity to revoke” that provision.

House Republicans last week passed their first funding bill for fiscal year 2025 — legislation that would fund military construction projects and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) — that would similarly prevent Pride flags from being flown at VA facilities and national cemeteries.

On Tuesday, outgoing Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) in a letter VA Secretary Denis McDonough asked that Pride flags be removed from VA facilities in Montana.

“Pride flags represent the joy and strength of LGBTQ+ people and are proudly flown around the world to let the community know they are seen and supported,” said Sam Lau, vice president of communications at the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy organization in the country. . “Comments like [Martha-Ann Alito’s], and the Colorado Republican party’s horrific efforts show why they matter more than ever. No amount of vitriol will ever erase our existence or our love.”

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story