Barrett tied to schools some call anti-gay
High court nominee sat on Trinity board; Democrats aim to boycott panel vote
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett served for nearly three years on the board of Trinity Schools Inc., private Christian schools that some say discriminated against gay and transgender people and their children.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are set to boycott voting on Barrett at the Senate Judiciary Committee today, but there is little they can do to prevent Republicans from rushing to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick before Election Day.
Democrats on the panel are refusing to participate in the scheduled session and vote, according to two aides granted anonymity Wednesday to discuss the plans. The Judiciary Committee, which is controlled by Republicans, is expected to push ahead. Senators are planning a weekend session to push through her confirmation on Monday.
The three schools, in Indiana, Minnesota and Virginia, are affiliated with People of Praise, of which Barrett and her husband have been members. At least three of the couple’s seven children have attended the Trinity School at Greenlawn, in South Bend, Ind. Barrett joined the board in 2015.
The Associated Press spoke with more than two dozen people who attended or worked at Trinity Schools or are former members of People of Praise. They said the community’s teachings have been consistent for decades: Homosexuality is an abomination against God, sex should occur only within marriage and marriage should only be between a man and a woman.
Interviewees told the AP that Trinity’s leaders communicated what they claim were anti-gay policies and positions in meetings, one-on-one conversations, enrollment agreements, employment agreements, handbooks and written policies, including those in place when Barrett was an active member of the board.
“Trinity Schools does not unlawfully discriminate with respect to race, color, gender, national origin, age, disability, or other legally protected classifications under applicable law,” the president of Trinity Schools Inc., Jon Balsbaugh, said in an email.
Barrett’s views on gay rights became a focus last week in her Senate confirmation hearing. But her membership in People of Praise and her leadership position at Trinity Schools were not discussed.
Suzanne Goldberg, a professor at Columbia Law School, said private schools have wide legal latitude to set admissions criteria. And, she said, Trinity probably isn’t covered by recent Supreme Court rulings outlawing employment discrimination against gay and transgender people because of its affiliation with a religious community.
“When any member of the judiciary affiliates themselves with an institution that is committed to discrimination on any ground, it is important to look more closely at how that affects the individual’s ability to give all cases a fair hearing,” Goldberg said.
The AP sent detailed questions for Barrett to the White House press office.
“Because Democrats and the media are unable to attack Judge Barrett’s sterling qualifications, they have instead turned to pathetic personal attacks on her children’s Christian school, even though the Supreme Court has repeatedly reaffirmed that religious schools are protected by the First Amendment,” Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, said by email.
Nearly all the people interviewed for this story are gay or said they have gay family members. They used words such as “terrified” and “frightening” to describe the prospect of Barrett on the high court. Some know Barrett and describe her as “nice” or “kind” but said they feared others would suffer if she tries to implement People of Praise’s views on homosexuality on the Supreme Court.
About half the people asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation against themselves or their families from other members of People of Praise or because they had not disclosed their sexuality to everyone in their lives. Among those interviewed were people who attended all three of its schools and who had been active in several of its 22 branches. Their experiences stretched from as far as the 1970s to as recently as this year.