ABC has a history of celebrating liberal-leaning Supreme Court wins and freaking out about conservative victories or justices at the high court. On Tuesday, senior legal correspondent Terry Moran used language like a “a new day” and hailed the “historic victory” for gay rights at the Court. Appearing on Good Morning America, Moran cheered, “This is a conservative court. It's one of the big surprises here as this case cut across those lines with one of President Trump's own appointees leading the way to a new day for LGBTQ Americans in the workplace.”
The journalist continued, “In ringing terms the Supreme Court declared on Monday that employers can no longer discriminate against their employees simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Until this decision, that was legal in more than half the states.”
Moran concluded, “It wasn't until this century that this court struck down laws that made it a crime for gay, lesbian, transgender questioning queer Americans to have sex in the privacy of their own homes.”
In June of 2015, the journalist described the reaction to legalizing gay marriage as a “deep cheer” “like a spark of fire.” When ObamaCare was reaffirmed that same year, a mocking Moran gloated, “ObamaCare 2, Conservatives 0.”
Talking about Brett Kavanugh in 2018, her warned that “millions of women” would feel “annihilated inside” if Kavanaugh was confirmed:
“I can't imagine the feeling of the millions and millions of women, and others who found Dr. Ford very, very credible.” Conceding a Kavanaugh victory, the ABC journalist stooped to extreme hyperbole on female reaction: “If, as seems likely, Republicans are able to get... Judge Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court, they're just going to feel annihilated inside.”
On June 27, 2008, GMA allowed just 93 seconds on the historic Heller decision, in which the Court declared the Second Amendment an individual right.
A transcript of the June 16 segment is below. Click “expand” to read more.
Good Morning America
6/16/2020
7:15 AM ET
MICHAEL STRAHAN: now to that landmark 6-3 ruling by the Supreme Court finding that the 1964 civil rights act protects gay, lesbian and transgender people at the workplace. Terry Moran is outside the Supreme Court. And this, Terry, is a huge victory for the LGBTQ rights and it’s coming from a largely conservative court.
TERRY MORAN: That's right, Michael. Good morning. This is a conservative court. It's one of the big surprises here as this case cut across those lines with one of President Trump's own appointees leading the way to a new day for LGBTQ Americans in the workplace. Overnight amid a historic victory for LGBTQ Americans, the community celebrating the supreme court's ruling to protect LGBTQ workers at one of its iconic landmarks.
KATHY MARINO THOMAS: It's so monumental that the court, a court that's considered conservative, stood by us and stood by our equality.
MORAN: In ringing terms the Supreme Court declared on Monday that employers can no longer discriminate against their employees simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Until this decision, that was legal in more than half the states.
GERALD BOSTOCK (Plaintiff in Supreme Court case): The states like Georgia that don't have those protections, we now have a federal protection to fall back on.
MORAN: Gerald Bostock, a plaintiff in the case, was fired from his job as a counselor in Clayton county, Georgia after he joined a gay softball team. Six justices including Justice Neil Gorsuch appointed by President Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts leader of the court's conservatives, says workers like Bostock should be covered under the plain meaning of the words of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Though written with the intent of addressing race problems, Gorsuch pointed to the text of the law. “Only the written word is the law and all persons are entitled to its benefit,” Gorsuch wrote. President trump whose administration argued in the case that gay workers should not be covered under civil rights laws was subdued.
DONALD TRUMP: Some people were surprised but they've ruled and we live with their decision.
MORAN: In a 100-page dissent Samuel Alito warned of dire consequences from bathrooms at workplaces to sports teams to pronouns. “The position that the court now adopts will threaten freedom of religion, freedom of speech and personal privacy and safety,” he wrote. It's amazing how fast the law changed in this area, Michael. It wasn't until this century that this court struck down laws that made it a crime for gay, lesbian, transgender questioning queer Americans to have sex in the privacy of their own homes.
STRAHAN: Things have changed for the better. Thank you, Terry. We appreciate that.
