WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Most observers of the U.S. Supreme Court’s oral arguments this week about whether states may prohibit “gender transition” procedures on minors concluded a majority of the justices are most likely to side with the states over the Biden administration, but over the course of proceedings Justice Amy Coney Barrett raised eyebrows by indulging a gender-confused attorney’s preference to be addressed as the opposite sex.
The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in U.S. v. Skrmetti about whether Tennessee, Kentucky, and other states by extension can protect gender-confused minors from irreversible drugs and surgeries. The hearing lasted nearly 2 1/2 hours, as conservative justices typically appeared sympathetic to the argument that the bans fell under the states’ right to regulate medical procedures. Liberal justices, meanwhile, argued the prohibitions were akin to racism and were discriminatory.
The Washington Examiner reported that among those arguing against the states was attorney “Chase” Strangio of the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU’s) LGBT & HIV Rights Project. Strangio is a woman but identifies as a man. Barrett, a nominee of returning President Donald Trump who has been attacked by leftists for her Catholic faith, addressed the female lawyer as “mister” during oral arguments.
Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis was among those who took issue with the apparent decision to put civility over accuracy, faulting Barrett for “allowing the LGBTQ mafia to hijack language and force participation in their agenda.”
Justice Barrett also calls the “trans” advocate (a woman) by the “Mr.” pronoun.
Why are sitting justices on the nation’s highest court playing into this lie?
They’re allowing the LGBTQ mafia to hijack language and force participation in their agenda.
Stop it.
— Jenna Ellis 🐊 (@realJennaEllis) December 4, 2024
In May, the Court unanimously sided with “transgender” Guatemalan immigrant Leon “Estrella” Santos-Zacaria in a deportation case, and while the validity of his so-called “gender identity” was not at issue in the case itself, Barrett joined fellow Trump-appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh along with Republican Chief Justice John Roberts and the Court’s liberals in an opinion that used “trans” pronouns, while Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas signed a separate opinion that did not.
Six of the Supreme Court’s nine current members were appointed by Republican presidents, yet its decisions continue to be decidedly mixed.
The Court has delivered conservatives major victories on gun rights, environmental regulation, affirmative action, and, most significantly, abortion with the overturn of Roe v. Wade, but it has also issued dismissive rulings on COVID-19 shot mandates, religious freedom, and LGBT ideology to the point that Alito has taken the rare step of criticizing Barrett and Kavanaugh for lacking the “fortitude” to resolve such issues.