Remember these two fundamental facts about LGBTQ people:
1) They got money, at least some in the alphabet.
2) Unlike other discriminated groups, they can pretend to be straight then advocate for their group to be protected.
Also: Marriage is a constitutionally protected right. Limiting the genders of those who get married is plainly discriminatory. It's harder.
Trans rights are the most vulnerable, especially in the areas of public accommodations and health care.
Eh, I'm not saying that I agree with the Court's decision. But I'm leery of throwing race relations into the abortion issue without sensitivity to both issues of race and unplanned pregnancy.
The question is whether this establishes a precedent that can be used to overturn essentially any law that related to social progress, something that before this would have been an unthinkable option in terms of legal precedent since later legal precedent could be used to override earlier rulings.
I think that is a fair concern, but note that overturning precedent is how you get social progress.
Hopefully, this case fits in the "rare and special" category, so the Supreme Court doesn't think they can pull this shit every day.
My crystal ball is in the shop, so all I can say is keep watching.
Actually, people need to make a big deal about this. The Supreme Court does consider the public perceptions of their actions: If they think the blowback from this case is "less than expected", they'll be emboldened to make more decisions. If they feel the heat of the public's near-universal hatred, then they'll take on less controversial issues for a while.
I did pick up one thing from the decision: If people want better laws, they need to elect better people.
If the Texas GOP is a bunch of neo-nazis, vote those assholes out.
Organize better among the Democrats. Support more moderate Texan Republicans. Form a Third Party. Eh, I don't live in Texas, so frankly I just don't care. If you don't live in Texas, maybe it ain't your problem either? Maybe we each need to worry more about our own states, and less about what crazy & stupid people are doing in other states?
Yes, I am aware that people move between states. But I can't worry about 49 other states being optimal if I should possibly wish to move in some unforeseen future.
The people in Texas can't just vote the "neo-nazis" (fascists, mostly) out because of voter suppression methods and gerrymandering. People volunteer a lot of personal time and money to fight such measures, but they remain effective at trapping a fairly balanced state in heavily conservative hands.
It's "my problem" (outside of basic empathy) because Texas wields incredible power on the federal level. The Texas GOP's recent manifesto is not limited to states-rights issues, they are coming after all of us. "States Rights" is a LIE, a stepping stone they use to crush all opposition locally before acting federally.
Mike Pence already proved this today by proposing a federal anti-abortion law. It's just grandstanding... for now... but it is absolutely what they want. The idea that we can just sit by and let Texas be a shithole is at once horrific and naive.
And yeah, only zoomers grew up with legal gay marriage. If we can force people to carry fetuses, we can certainly allow states to deny marriages. This is also on the Texas GOPs public agenda: refusing to acknowledge "unnatural" homosexual marriages from other states. Again, Roberts and the GOP are being very explicit that they're not stopping with abortion (as if that would be okay). They're not even being sneaky about it anymore.
Somewhat related and not for the faint of heart, I saw a twitter thread recently that reminded me how fragile these rights are. My leftish-liberal father deliberately deadnames famous trans people so I really shouldn't be shocked, it's just how things are.
CW: Lots of slurs and rather depressing.
https://twitter.com/Fondantfiend/status/1539838398566846464?t=8cCRBDH9Tfix199sUlE-Pw&s=09But the idea that we queers will be okay because some of our alphabet has money... what the fuck, man. That's such a weird implication and it doesn't even matter to the Right. Even Pete Buttigieg, the most respectable and polite gay, is still just a *slur* to the Right.
Oh and I forgot that we can just hide and live with it. Thanks! I've done that all my life and now I'm 36 and only now getting a sense for what I was missing, but that's great advice! Fuck!