An MSNBC legal analyst and attorney said Thursday the prospect of a conservative majority on the Supreme Court should worry everyone who is not a heterosexual, white man.
During a discussion about Justice Anthony Kennedy’s pending retirement, lawyer Midwin Charles argued conservative justices in the Court pose a threat to the legality of abortion, affirmative action, and gay marriage. Adding another in Kennedy's place could be catastrophic, she argued.
"Abortion is not the only issue that conservatives are itching to dismantle," Charles said. "There is also affirmative action. I am admitted to practice in the Supreme Court and have been for twelve years. I couldn't have achieved that without affirmative action. They are itching to dismantle affirmative action. Also, one of the things I think Justice Kennedy was crucial in his vote is recognizing the right of LGBTQ people to be married. That, too, is something that they are itching and railing to get rid of."
This led to her to conclude only straight, white men are likely able to live without fear.
"If you are LGBTQ, if you are a person of color, if you are a woman—so basically if you are not a straight white male in America, right now, you are probably freaking out," she said.
Charles also tweeted her thoughts on the subject, telling women, people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ members, and disabled people that Kennedy's retirement "should freak you out."
If you're a woman, person of color, Muslim, LGTBQ, or disabled, Kennedy's retirement from the Supreme Court should freak you out! pic.twitter.com/fcmCw3EqZ1
— Midwin Charles, Esq. (@MidwinCharles) June 28, 2018
She also said Supreme Court decisions such as Janus v. AFSCME give power to corporations, even though the case was about public-sector and not private-sector unions.
"When you look at the immense power that the Supreme Court has in determining civil rights, all kinds of things, and also whether or not corporations have the right to make decisions that harm their consumers, as you saw just this past week with the treatment of unions, it is quite devastating," Charles said.
The Janus decision ruled that state and local public-sector unions cannot mandate non-member employees pay dues to the union.
Charles was replying to Ilyse Hogue, president of the advocacy group NARAL Pro-choice America, who expressed concern at the "capture of the Republican Party by an extreme right wing" and said women may defect in large numbers, citing two writers in the New York Times.
"There's no question, a bad pick for the Supreme Court will hurt us for generations, but this party, which resembles nothing like it did when I was growing up, will be gutted for generations to come," she said.
Charles said defections won’t change the trajectory of the Court, which she argued is on the cusp of greatly harming women and people of color. She is one of many on the left who have sounded the alarm over the prospect of Kennedy being replaced by a conservative justice.