They Came After Roe, Now They Are Coming After Us
Welcome back to the Medieval Ages! With the Supreme Court's unilateral decision to overturn Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, America has taken a giant leap backwards in time. The almost entirely male court has "reinterpreted" the fifty year old constitutional right for women to decide what to do with their own bodies. The boys have decided that women do not in fact have that right. This is obviously a national tragedy and unprecedented international embarrassment that will disproportionately harm poor women and women of color. But sadly, this may not be the end of our nation's backward slide into the Dark Ages. In Clarence Thomas's published opinion, he stated that the court should also reevaluate other watershed cases, and that could seriously harm the LGBTQ community. Of course, Thomas failed to mention interracial marriage since he is married to the traitorous January 6th insurrectionist Ginni Thomas, but many other rights that don't effect him personally are in danger.
The first one that could be on the chopping block is Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case which guaranteed the right the same-sex marriages. Thomas and the other Trump-appointed justices seemingly plan to use their same twisted logic to overturn this case as well. As with Roe, doing so would remove the federally mandated right to marriage equality and turn the decision back to the states. This means America would continue its split in half, and suddenly gay and lesbian couples in many states would have their marriages effectively nullified. Why? Because five unelected ultra-conservative Handmaid's Tale justices said you don't deserve it! Of course, the majority of Americans support marriage equality (and abortion rights as well), but our supposed "democracy" doesn't always work like one. If this enrages you, you're probably a reasonable person!
Going back even further into the Dark Ages, the Supreme Court has stated its intention to take another look at Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 case which established the right, not even to same-sex marriage, but same-sex intimacy! Yep, that's right! The gay zoomers reading this may not believe it, but having sex with a man (read: sodomy) was ILLEGAL in some states not too long ago in this century! If the Supreme Court decides that our constitutional "right to privacy" doesn't include who and how we can express our love, we may go back to the days of men getting arrested in their homes simply for fucking or making an Only Fans or having a Grindr account. Sounds like a nightmare? Welcome to the radical right's ideal America! Cruelty towards LGBTQ+, women and minorities has become the driving purpose for the MAGA movement who believe the 1950s were the "good old days."
The court has also indicated that they may overturn Griswold v. Connecticut, the landmark case from the 60s that guaranteed the right to use contraception and birth control. Doing so would of course be a total disaster for everyone in the country, but especially for LGBTQ people who historically have relied on these things greatly to practice safe sex and family planning. Because sure, if these medieval-minded justices believe that single celled embryos are sacred human lives, then why not go even further and protect the sanctity of every sperm? America may shortly return to a state of puritanical lunacy where many forms of sex are illegal in some states.
This is all extremely grim, and our heart goes out to everyone in the states affected by Roe's desecration. But all hope is not lost! Protests have erupted across the country, and will likely continue for weeks to come. Keep making your voices heard and let Washington know we're not going to let them strip us of our basic human rights without a fight. Now more than ever it's important to stand up for who we are, through your 1st amendment rights, but also through your vote. If you're angry, then the best thing to do is participate in the democratic process at all levels...the local, state and national level and in both the primaries and general elections so that the will of the majority can become law and protect our rights for future generations. Don't give up hope and check your voter registration status right now! We must push back at every opportunity we have to make sure the radical minority doesn't control the will of the majority.