Amy Coney Barrett: What You Need To Know About President Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee
So, who exactly might replace RBG?
by KATE WALKER ★ OCTOBER 7, 2020
Following the heartbreaking death of former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President Trump wasted no time nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the vacant seat. Trump’s snap decision caused an uproar from the left, who were quick to recall how Republicans refused to confirm President Obama’s nominee after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016. Hypocrisy is a common theme in the world of politics, and this is Trump’s chance to tip the court even further to the right ahead of the election.
So who is Amy Coney Barrett, and what does she stand for?
Barrett is a wife and mother to seven children and is a proud conservative and a devout Catholic. After graduating from her alma mater, Rhodes College, she continued her education at Notre Dame’s law school. She then went on to become an American attorney, jurist, and academic. She currently serves as a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Prior to and while serving on the federal bench, she has been a professor of law at Notre Dame Law School.
There is no doubt that Barrett is extremely bright and has found lots of success in her academic and post-grad career. However, as a nominee for the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States of America, it is important to educate yourself on where her beliefs lie, and what exactly she would be fighting for on the Supreme Court.
Abortion:
When asked about her views on abortion during her confirmation hearing, Barrett stated that as a Catholic, she believes “abortion is…always immoral” but as a judge, her personal “views on this or any other question will have no bearing.” During her time on the bench, in two different cases involving abortion restrictions, “she voted in ways that would support the limitations.” Although Barrett has yet to a release a statement which blatantly states her views on Roe v. Wade, she and her husband signed off on an advertisement in 2006 that called for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and called the landmark abortion rights decision “barbaric” and a “raw exercise of judicial power.”
Gun control:
Barrett’s conservative views extend to the Second Amendment and gun control as well, and the NRA even released a statement applauding her nomination to the Supreme Court. Last year, Barrett opposed the 7th Circuit panel majority when they rejected a Second Amendment challenge from a man found guilty of felony mail fraud and prohibited him from possessing a firearm. She declared that America’s “founding legislatures did not strip felons of the right to bear arms simply because of their status as felons,” and that the ban is unconstitutional and “treats the Second Amendment as a second-class right."
LGBTQ+ rights:
Although critics have suggested Barrett’s religious views would influence her rulings, she countered and testified that her faith would not do such a thing. However, her ties to an expressly conservative Christian faith group, People of Praise, has raised questions for some as the group has “guidelines stating a belief that sexual relations should only happen between heterosexual married couples.” The Human Rights Campaign, a prominent LGBTQ+ advocacy group, has voiced their strong opposition to Barrett's nomination and declared her a threat to all LGBTQ+ rights.
Health care:
Barrett has repeatedly challenged the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare). She praised the late Justice Scalia's opposing opinion on a case that declared Affordable Care Act subsidies as constitutional. If confirmed to the Supreme Court, Barrett is expected to continue her dissent of the ACA.
Immigration:
Barrett expressed her support of the Trump administration’s effort to reduce legal immigration levels through their proposed regulations that would make it harder for working and middle-class people to immigrate legally to the United States by “denying them green cards and visas based on government predictions that they are “likely” to receive Medicaid coverage or other means-tested public benefits at any time in the future.”
Barrett has also repeatedly refused to review cases brought by immigrants applying for humanitarian protections and other immigration benefits, who claimed they had been wrongfully denied. Furthermore, in Jan. 2019, Barrett supported the Trump administration’s decision to deny a visa to the spouse of a naturalized U.S. citizen based on a finding that the spouse was involved in trying to smuggle children into the United States.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett has made headlines across the U.S. in the wake of her nomination for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and there is no doubt that she will be a tough adversary for the Democratic Party. Regardless of your political beliefs, it is important to educate yourself on who might join the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States of America, and what that means for you.
Sources:
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/19/amy-coney-barrett-what-you-need-to-know-418378