Pegged as incitement by critics, a caution was sent by the Democrats about how gay rights could be next after a circulated draft opinion signaled a crackdown on abortion access.
“To my friends in the LGBTQ+ community — the Supreme Court is coming for us next. This moment has to be a call to arms,” Lightfoot said in a brief and now-viral Twitter thread. “We will not surrender our rights without a fight — a fight to victory!” Lightfoot added.
Lightfoot was elected Chicago’s first Black gay woman mayor in 2019. She marked the occasion by kissing her wife, Amy Eshleman.
Earlier in the day, Lightfoot declared a $500,000 investment in the Chicago Department of Public Health to back abortion access for women, according to FOX 32 Chicago, and the mayor said a host of different rights beyond those associated with abortion, are at risk. “This includes women’s rights, trans rights, immigrant rights and of course the right to same sex and interracial marriage. We simply cannot stand idly by and let that happen,” she said.
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Lightfoot supposedly gave a similar “call to arms” message during that appearance and was asked to explain it during an interview on MSNBC.
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“I think everybody who saw that draft opinion has gone through a range of different emotions,” Lightfoot said. “But we can’t just be angry. We’ve got to be intentional, we’ve got to be dedicated. And that’s why I’m calling upon fellow elected officials across the country, and particularly my fellow mayors to join me in making a pledge that we made today, which is a ‘Justice For All Pledge.’ And fundamentally, it reaffirms Chicago as a welcoming city, a city that doesn’t discriminate, and a city that’s going to stand with women.”
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The idea that would overturn Roe v. Wade is not conclusive, and votes among the justices might shift before a ruling is dealt. Still, the leak one week ago has mobilized protesters on both sides of the abortion debate. On Monday, the White House warned against violence as protesters gathered outside the homes of Supreme Court justices.
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Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the draft opinion, suggested that the Supreme Court believes “Roe and Casey must be overruled” and claimed it “is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” Alito also wrote, “Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.”
The leak prompted Chief Justice John Roberts to order a probe by the court’s marshal. In a statement, the court confirmed the leaked draft is “authentic” but stressed it does “not represent a decision by the Court.”
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