The Rising Conflict between Religious Liberty and LGBTQ+ Rights in the Courts

When: Wednesday, April 7th, 2021

Time: 5:30 - 7:00 PM

RSVP: here

Earlier this fall Justice Alito gave a speech to the Federalist Society which, among other things, described “religious liberty” as something that is “becoming a disfavored right”. In this speech he challenged the landmark case of Employment Division v. Smith, which held that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment does not exempt individuals from neutral laws of general applicability. One of the cases before the Supreme Court, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, could potentially overturn the decision in Smith. Additionally, both Justice Alito and Justice Thomas indicated earlier this fall that they had interest in overturning Obergefell v. Hodges, which created the constitutional right to marry for same-sex couples, due to the fact that it protected a “novel constitutional right over the religious liberty interests explicitly protected in the First Amendment.” With clear indication from some Supreme Court justices that religious liberties ought to take priority over LGBTQ rights in these cases, what can and should be done in response? What are some of the possible outcomes of Fulton and what implications might these outcomes have for advocates of LGBTQ+ rights?

Panelists:

• James Esseks, Director, ACLU LGBT & HIV Project
• Katherine Franke, James L. Dohr Professor of Law & Director, Center for Gender & Sexuality Law, Columbia Law School
• Nan Hunter, The Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law, Georgetown Law Center

Moderator:

• Faraz Sanei, Acting Assistant Professor of Lawyering, New York University School of Law