Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D., N.Y.) said Monday that religious liberty is a "bogus term" that merely serves as a "pretext for discrimination."
Maloney was celebrating the morning's high-profile victory for LGBT rights at the Supreme Court, but he took time to criticize the author of the decision, Justice Neil Gorsuch, for having supported religious liberty.
"We know that Neil Gorsuch is a supporter of so-called religious liberty, which is a bogus term—it is actually some sort of pretext for discrimination hiding behind the guise of religion," Maloney said. "I'm still on the lookout for that from the author of this opinion."
Maloney went on to list the ways that "kids" have led the charge in progressive protest movements, such as gun control, arguing some of his congressional colleagues should be replaced by high school students.
"If we had more high school kids in Congress, we'd be a better country," he said.
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination, protects lesbian, gay, and transgender workers. Gorsuch, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, delivered the opinion in a six-to-three decision.
Maloney cochairs the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus and has previously criticized defenders of religious liberty for attempting to "sanction discrimination."