The Supreme Court of the United States has spoken: Taxpayers must subsidize religious schools and all the hate that they teach according to the Carson v. Makin ruling. This was one of the “blockbuster” cases expected this term, and, naturally, the uber-conservative religious right wing of the Court did not fail to deliver. This case was pivotal because of the legal question at issue, specifically, “Does a state violate the Religion Clauses or Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution by prohibiting students participating in an otherwise generally available student-aid program from choosing to use their aid to attend schools that provide religious, or ‘sectarian,’ instruction?” Their answer by a 6-3 majority was yes. So, the road to a theocratic nation has begun as taxpayers will now be forced to pay for students who want to attend religious schools. This is the fear being realized: This Court will start giving more and more preference to religion over secularism under the guise of First Amendment protections.
I quote from Breyer’s dissenting opinion, which I think pretty much sums up my feelings: “As Thomas Jefferson, one of the leading drafters and proponents of those Clauses, wrote, ‘to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical.’… And as James Madison, another drafter and proponent, said, compelled taxpayer sponsorship of religion ‘is itself a signal of persecution,’ which ‘will destroy that moderation and harmony which the forbearance of our laws to intermeddle with Religion, has produced amongst its several sects.’”
From Sotomayor’s dissent, “[I]n just a few years, the Court has upended constitutional doctrine, shifting from a rule that permits States to decline to fund religious organizations to one that requires States in many circumstances to subsidize religious indoctrination with taxpayer dollars. … From a practical perspective, today’s decision directs the State of Maine (and, by extension, its taxpaying citizens) to subsidize institutions that undisputedly engage in religious instruction. … In addition, while purporting to protect against discrimination of one kind, the Court requires Maine to fund what many of its citizens believe to be discrimination of other kinds. See ante, at 16 (BREYER, J., dissenting) (summarizing Bangor Christian Schools’ and Temple Academy’s policies denying enrollment to students based on gender identity, sexual orientation, and religion)[emphasis added].” Bingo!
But wait! There is more from Sotomayor. In her closing paragraph, she writes, “What a difference five years makes. In 2017, I feared that the Court was “lead[ing] us . . . to a place where separation of church and state is a constitutional slogan, not a constitutional commitment.”… Today, the Court leads us to a place where separation of church and state becomes a constitutional violation. If a State cannot offer subsidies to its citizens without being required to fund religious exercise, any State that values its historic antiestablishment interests more than this Court does will have to curtail the support it offers to its citizens. With growing concern for where this Court will lead us next, I respectfully dissent [emphasis added].” Double bingo! Sotomayor is the new RBG!
Needless to say, I don’t want my tax dollars supporting f***ing religious institutions that basically teach hate. Still, SCOTUS is forcing us to pony up in the name of freedom of speech and equal protection — more like extra protection for religion. This is the beginning of the end, f***tards. This is the unraveling of long-standing norms in favor of religiosity. Consider all the other issues this ultra-conservative opinion forebodes for minorities and others. Do you think this Court will protect the LGBTQ community given their apparent preference to place religious dogma above others’ rights, all in the name of the First Amendment? What do you think will happen when a petitioner comes before the Court claiming that discrimination against gays is justified because of some “sincerely” held religious belief? It’s about to be open season on non-believers! What else is next? Mandatory prayers in schools? Ten Commandments posted in every classroom? All in defense of not discriminating against religion? Mark my words, morons! Secularism is about to become second-class to religious authoritarianism. As I said countless times already, RepubliKKKlan’s super-majority hold of SCOTUS is the final piece in place to end America as we know it. Oh, well. This is what Americans want, whether they intended it or not. The end of Roe is next week! Welcome to stupid America!