(RepublicanDaily.org) – A Supreme Court justice is under fire after making racial jokes during an oral hearing. Left-wing activists are calling Justice Samuel Alito’s remarks “really upsetting.” But what’s more important — not upsetting people, or testing the possible consequences of bad laws?
Justice Alito jokes with Justice Kagan that, "You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits all the time," during oral arguments in a free speech case. pic.twitter.com/QoCfDVhuEQ
— The Recount (@therecount) December 5, 2022
On December 5, the US Supreme Court began examining 303 Creative LLC v. Aubrey Elenis, which involves Colorado’s anti-discrimination laws. The case began when a graphic designer tried to state she wouldn’t design websites for same-sex weddings — a statement that, in Colorado, is illegal discrimination. On Monday, Justice Alito gave an example of what the law could lead to, but some people were too offended by his choice of example to see the point he was making.
During Monday’s hearing, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asked whether a mall Santa Claus would be allowed to refuse to take pictures with non-white children. Justice Alito responded by asking if a black Santa at the other end of the mall would have to take pictures with a child in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. When liberal Justice Elena Kagan asked if it would be the same KKK outfit whether the child was black or white, Alito — possibly surprised by the odd question — quipped, “You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits, right? All the time.”
Former NAACP director Sherrilyn Ifill tweeted Monday to condemn Alito’s joke, saying it was upsetting and “so inappropriate.” However, what Alito and his fellow justices were trying to do was see how far Colorado’s laws can go in forcing people to do things they don’t want to do.
Should they have to take feelings into consideration, or would we all be better off if they stayed focused on the law?
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