SCOTUS Appointment Affect
Today's topic is going to be how the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court will not only affect the people of Vermont, but will have an affect on everyone in the country.
Ever since Amy Coney Barrett was appointed I’ve heard many people say that she really isn’t going to do anything that will seriously affect people and that people are worried for nothing.
I’m hoping this piece I’m writing will help people have a better understanding of what Amy Coney Barrett has done and what she has the power to do in the future.
How the Appointment of Amy Coney Barrett is Affecting us Locally?
I, like many others, were worried about the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett. Considering her past and lack of experience, there was obviously reason for people to be worried about what kind of things she would vote on.
Before Justice Barrett was appointed to the court she spent two years as a judicial law clerk after law school. She was a judge for a few years, and during those years she made some controversial rulings. In 2018 she was apart of a three judge panel voting in favor to require a ceremony/funeral for abortion and fetus remains. In 2019 she argued that a conviction for a nonviolent shouldn’t automatically disqualify you from owning a gun.
Justice Barrett has also been extremely committed to her religion, and it’s not necessarily a secret that she lets that influence her decisions. Since Barrett is very Catholic, many tend to be pro life. Last year she was part of a three judge panel that blocked a law in Indiana to make it harder for a minor to have an abortion.
Since Justice Barrett allows her religion to influence her beliefs, that’s a huge concern. Now she is part of the highest court, she can vote on things that affect people on their day to day lives. Barrett has made it clear that she does not support gay marriage, abortions, and even ACA.
Has She Done Anything to Affect Vermont?
It depends on how you look at the impact. In a ruling on June 30th, the Supreme Court ruled that religious schools can’t be excluded from vouchers. Which means that if a town gives a student money for private and independent schools, they also have to give money to students who want to attend religious schools.
This ruling will affect the people who live in a district that doesn’t have a highschool or has school choice. I live in a district that allows me to have the choice to go to any highschool I want and the state will pay for me to go to school. The way this works is that my parents will pay taxes to the state, and the state will divide it based on the district which allows me to go to any highschool I would like.
But there is a law in Vermont that doesn’t allow this money to go towards religious schools. With this new Supreme Court ruling, it could change the whole dynamic Vermont has put in place that allows separation of church and state.
Separation of Church and State
In the first clause of the Bill of Rights it states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” This means that anyone in Government, no matter their religion, shouldn’t vote or rule on something that goes against other peoples religions.
That’s why topics like abortion are up for debate. Some people believe that it is immoral because it goes against their religion, and others believe that laws like banning abortion shouldn’t be put in place because they don’t believe in the same religion.
So this is the debate right now. Many people who are part of a religion feel that they are being discriminated against by the state because the state will not pay for their child to go to a religious school. Many people and the state of Vermont believe that paying for students to go to a religious school violates the separation of church and state. I will leave this up for readers to decide.
Hypocrisy
I have noticed a lot of conservatives argue the “free college” argument with “I don’t want to pay for you college because I don’t agree with it.” Does the same logic not fall under this? But there is a difference between having the state pay tuition, and the state paying for religious schools.
Everyone deserves equal opportunity for college. College isn’t a belief system like religion though. You can’t force your beliefs on someone and you shouldn’t have people pay for you kid to learn something that isn’t their same belief.
With things like the independent school I go to, all the kids and I get wonderful educations. We can pick around what things we want to learn that may be different, but at the end of the day we are getting an education that isn’t biased towards a religion.
Summarize
Since Trump was able to appoint so many Supreme Court Justices, they will continue to make more rulings that benefit a lot of religious aspects, mainly towards Christians and Catholics. This seems nice if you do fall under that category, but some people just don’t align themselves with specific religions, so why should they have to benefit them before themselves?
Having the state pay for religious teachings goes everything against what this country was meant to be built on. There’s so much room for expression and freedom of religion, but why isn’t there freedom for people to not pay for it.
I hope we can all learn that Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue will affect so many people, and in the long run will make it seem okay to put religion above anything else. I also want to make it clear that this does go for all religions.
Sources That Helped me
https://vtdigger.org/2021/01/27/ruling-allows-religious-school-students-access-to-vouchers-now-what/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-religion/u-s-supreme-court-endorses-taxpayer-funds-for-religious-schools-idUSKBN2412FX
Well thought out. Interesting to see how national politics have an effect on the local level.