Oral arguments at the Supreme Court in the Obergefell v. Hodges case were interrupted on Tuesday afternoon by a man inside the courtroom screaming his opposition to same-sex marriage, according to multiple news reports.
TPM Bureau Chief David Kurtz, who was reporting from inside the hearing, said a white male stood up and began shouting approximately thirty minutes into the oral argument.
Kurtz was unable to distinguish the exact words of the protester. However, in an audio clip published by WFPL producer Laura Ellis, it’s clear the man yelled, “The bible teaches us that if you support gay marriage, you will burn in hell!” and that gay marriage is an “abomination to god.”
According to SCOTUS Blog, the man continued to shout as security removed him from the courtroom.
Security scrambles in at SCOTUS pic.twitter.com/fhULfwu9lk
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) April 28, 2015
After the protester was removed from the courtroom, Justice Antonin Scalia quipped about the interruption, “It was rather refreshing, actually.”
Hey, Tony, if you thought that was cool, there’s a whole plaza full of folks outside who’d love a gallery seat.
Probably was Scalia’s “Anger Translator.”
Actually that rant will probably help the cause, hopefully a few more nuts will show up. It only will take one of the five conservative justices to say “I’m not with those nuts” to win. Frankly I think it goes 6-3 in favor of gay marriage.
I’m not making any wagers on how this will turn out, but I agree that about 6 or 7 of the 9 Supremes can tell the difference between the 14th Amendment’s equal justice clauses and the bigotry taught by silly 2000-3000 year old religious texts.
Agreed. I think Kennedy and Roberts will both rule for gay marriage. That leaves Thomas, Scalia, and Alito to scurry off and soothe their wounded pride in a totally hetero way.
As a side note, while I am not a big fan of Roberts’ positions, I have to say that I do think he is doing a good job running the court. And he has not been as repugnant as I thought he would be upon appointment. Alito on the other hand…