LGBT Rights Supreme Court Ruling Is a Power Play by Gorsuch
The conservative justice seized an opportunity to appear objective.
The arc of history just bent a little more.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesIn one of its most important decisions in years, the Supreme Court has interpreted federal anti-discrimination law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender status. In a surprise to most observers, the decision was 6 to 3, and written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, one of Donald Trump's appointees.
The decision marks Gorsuch’s most significant move thus far to take on the mantle of the late Justice Antonin Scalia as the intellectual leader of the conservative wing of the court. That may sound strange and counter-intuitive: After all, Scalia harshly opposed landmark decisions expanding gay rights, and it's difficult to imagine him having joined the Gorsuch opinion.