Alito raises religious liberty concerns about Covid restrictions and same-sex marriage ruling – By Ariane de Vogue (CNN) / Nov 12 2020
(CNN)Justice Samuel Alito said Thursday night that he worried about the future of religious liberty in the United States, expressing particular concern as it applies to Covid restrictions and the Supreme Court’s decision in 2015 clearing the way for same-sex marriage nationwide.
“It pains me to say this,” Alito said, “but in certain quarters, religious liberty is fast becoming a disfavored right.”
The remarks — an enlargement of themes he’s written about — came as he was addressing the conservative Federalist Society via Zoom for its annual conference.
The speech was particularly notable because it comes at a fraught time on the heels of a divisive election, when Chief Justice John Roberts has sought to keep the court out of the political fray. Alito, instead, took on the restrictions of in-person worship services during the pandemic — an issue that is currently before the court — as well as Obergefell v. Hodges, the opinion that cleared the way for same-sex marriage nationwide. He also returned to the issue of the Second Amendment and touched on the possibility that Democrats may seek to restructure the size of the court.
Continue > https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/12/politics/samuel-alito-religious-freedom-federalist-society/index.html
