Good decisions on marriage equality, bad decision on Voting Rights Act leave America part equal and part unequal

Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron released the following statement today in response to the Supreme Court decisions in United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry:

AFJ President Nan Aron speaks
at a rally in support of marriage equality
when the cases were argued in March

We strongly applaud the decisions in United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry and look forward to the implementation of marriage equality in California and to the application of full federal rights to all same-sex married couples nationwide. This is a great day, not only for LGBT Americans, but also for all who cherish the fundamental principle of equal justice for all.

We are mindful, though, that although today the arc of history bent a little more toward justice,  there still is a long way to go.  This week’s conflicting decisions by the Supreme Court on marriage equality and voting rights are at once profoundly hopeful and deeply disappointing.

Even as we celebrate today’s victories, we are appalled, but not surprised that the Court in Shelby County V. Holder has cut the heart out of the Voting Rights Act, one of America’s most important civil rights statutes. This week, the Court majority willfully turned its back on the hard-won promise of equality, based on the delusion that the quest for racial equality is over.

Taking these cases together, we are concerned that this Court, by moving in opposite directions simultaneously, has once again left the nation part equal and part unequal.  Regrettably, this Supreme Court majority has seen fit to give with one hand, while taking with the other. The struggle for a full measure of justice for every American must continue in our own time, as it has since our nation’s founding. As Fannie Lou Hamer said so well, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”

Read More:
● AFJ Audio Analysis of the marriage equality cases.
● Read more about marriage equality.
●Videos from AFJ’s luncheon celebrating marriage equality victories in the states.
● Video: AFJ President Nan Aron’s call for marriage equality during a rally at the Supreme Court in March.
● AFJ Audio Analysis of the Voting Rights Act case.
● Read more about the Voting Rights Act.