On social media, Justice Samuel Alito was chastised for a joke he made during oral arguments in an LGBTQ+ discrimination lawsuit on Monday. The Supreme Court case, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, is about a Colorado graphic designer’s claim that providing her services to same-sex couples violates her faith, according to PEOPLE.
Justice Alito is said to have made the joke while he and his colleagues were imagining how their decision in the case might affect other likely instances of discrimination.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a left-leaning member of the court, asked if there would be any problems if a White mall Santa Claus allegedly refuses to take photos with Black children. Alito, a conservative justice, then entered and suggested that there are times when denying services is appropriate, such as when a Black Santa declines to pose for photos with a child dressed in a Ku Klux Klan robe.
Colorado Solicitor General Eric Olson, however, told Alito that “Ku Klux Klan outfits are not protected characteristics under public accommodation laws.” Justice Elena Kagan also added that if a Black Santa refuses to entertain someone wearing a KKK outfit, that person’s identity would be unimportant because of the outfit in question.
Justice Alito, who wrote the majority opinion on the Supreme Court’s reversal of the Roe v. Wade case, then said, “You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits, right? All the time. All the time.” His response was met with a bit of laughter in the courtroom, PEOPLE reported.
Justice Alito jokes with Justice Kagan that, "You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits all the time," during oral arguments in a free speech case. pic.twitter.com/QoCfDVhuEQ
— The Recount (@therecount) December 5, 2022
But some people took to Twitter to register their displeasure over Justice Alito’s joke. “This argument … this is really upsetting. The joke about Black kids in KuKluxKlan outfits? No Justice Alito, these ‘jokes’ are so inappropriate, no matter how many in the courtroom chuckle mindlessly,” Sherrilyn Ifill, who is the former president and director-counsel of the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, tweeted.
“According to SCOTUS Justice Alito, prohibiting a Christian from discriminating against LGBTQ people is like forcing ‘black Santa’ to appear in a photo with the KKK. This is what passes for logic in a right-wing Supreme Court. Shameful!” Rep. Ritchie Torres also shared.
Take a look at more reactions below:
https://twitter.com/GaryLegum/status/1599825281610838017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This is standard Alito, which is why he is so unfit to serve on SCOTUS. Both on the high court and when he was on a lower court, he has made up facts to dismiss those he doesn't like. That is how he can make his opinions always line up with GOP policies: He's unbound by fact. https://t.co/6oyuMFXpRq
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) December 5, 2022
So many befuddled assumptions here. KKK outfit hypothetical aside, in Alito's mind, a white kid couldn't possibly visit a black Santa, I reckon. Ol boy's lost. https://t.co/iWDonHWK1E
— Jeffrey Wright 🥜 (@jfreewright) December 5, 2022
I KNEW ALITO WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO RESIST BRINGING UP THE KU KLUX KLAN.
He asks if a Black Santa would be forced to take a photo with a kid dressed in a Klan outfit.
WHAT THE HELL, SAM.
Colorado SG: The KKK isn't a protected characteristic tho.
NO SHIT https://t.co/iDuZfnAw3S
— Rewire News Group (@RewireNewsGroup) December 5, 2022
https://twitter.com/SIfill_/status/1599800465478123525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This man should not be sitting on our highest court. https://t.co/IZSWCoD39d
— Notorious Tinatanium 🆓 (@TinaDesireeBerg) December 5, 2022
Oral arg in #303Creative: Justice Alito is resorting to KKK jokes. Ha ha ha. As if what's at stake here is funny, and isn't taking place in a context in which LGBTQ people feel like we have a target on our backs. And, ahem – Klan jokes aren't funny under any context.
— Katherine Franke (@ProfKFranke) December 5, 2022