After Roe v. Wade Leak, LGBTQ+ People Are in Big Trouble

If we are to believe that the leaked U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is true and that the majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, makes the point that abortion isn't mentioned in the Constitution, then we are truly and frighteningly headed for the dark ages.

The fact that women's rights will be almost negligible is only the beginning of what's to come. Brace yourselves for an onslaught of decisions that will also trample LGBTQ+ rights.

The words gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer, to name a few, are not mentioned in the Constitution. Does that make our existence illegal?

Think about what else isn't listed in the Constitution. Voting rights, civil rights, desegregation, trains, cars, planes, telephones, cell phones, computers, the abacus, toys, games, passports, bars, restaurants, watches, jewelry, donkeys, horses, and dogs. Are these all illegal?

So what are these sanctimonious, narrow-minded, merciless firebrand, Bible-thumping, so-called justices preparing themselves to do next? They are gleefully ready to put Roe v. Wade in the trash bin of history. And because this decision is enormously consequential, my guess is that one of the justices (I guess Clarence Thomas) leaked the opinion in order to give states time to create their own anti-abortion laws before the SCOTUS decision is officially released, probably sometime late next month.

Thomas is just that sadistic. He would do something like this because he and his wife have zero respect for the court and for the LGBTQ+ community.

The leak was also a sign that if you are gay; if you are in a same-sex marriage; if you have sex; if you are transgender; if you're leaving an inheritance to your partner, husband, or wife; and on and on, you will be the next "no mentions" in the Constitution, and because of this, your rights will be stripped away.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade should come as no surprise. Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch all gave various forms of vague responses to the case being precedent. The mealy-mouthed Sen. Susan Collins said that one of the reasons she was voting to confirm Kavanaugh to the court was that he told her he wouldn't overturn Roe v. Wade. How naive and utterly stupid was she to believe this liar.

They all basically hem-hawed around discussion of Roe v. Wade but settled on all saying the same thing about precedent. That's exactly what they did when asked about same-sex marriage too. They danced around the issue, feigned ignorance, and ridiculously said they wouldn't comment on "hypotheticals." However, in their subversive minds, Roe and same-sex marriage were never hypotheticals. They were on their target lists. Religious zealots who were chosen for the court to do "God's work."

Overturning Roe v. Wade is only a start. It lays down a marker for how far out these justices are willing to go. They are impervious to second-guessing, to appeals, to impeachment it seems. Six, and especially five, justices are out to demolish any rights that aren't "listed in the Constitution" but are listed in the Bible. They're using our precious document of freedom as a stabbing dagger and God's word as a sinister scalpel.

We got cocky. We've had so many rulings in our favor over the last two decades. Obliviously, we celebrated Pride, toasted our nuptials, and enlisted in the military. We were on our way to one day passing an equality law, not only in Congress but in statehouses around the country. We were striving hard not to be a marginalized community.

Alito, Kavanaugh, Coney Barrett, Gorsuch, and Thomas will do their utmost best to strip our marriage licenses, return us to dark alley bars, and make it a war crime for us to be in the military. These hideous and atrocious people sit in their high-backed chairs, with their highfalutin attitudes, and their subservient obedience to their higher power. Five cloistered individuals have the power to diminish, disparage, and deprecate our sexuality and identities and shred to pieces our carefully cultivated rainbow flag.

Roe v. Wade is just a start, and if they have the insolence and impertinence -- the absolute gall -- to take away abortion rights, God help us for what comes next. I fear the worst.

We can fight back at the ballot box. And while that is true, to so many it feels like it's not enough -- but the power of a vote is important here. If every single one of us went to the polls, we'd make a difference; however, until we have that opportunity to cast our vote, we are going to be ripped to shreds by the pious right

The ultra-right-wingers have been calling us pedophiles and groomers and buttoning our mouths and taking away our books in libraries. Now that they have won the abortion battle, they are going to take all that they have done to us so far this year and use it as ammunition to call us out as immoral and call on the court to strike us down -- in every capacity.

The disgusting moral uppishness of these so-called Christians is sin. Full stop. My grandmother always said that those who do you evil here on Earth will have a price to pay when they go to hell. I told them all that they will burn in hell a couple weeks ago. I still think that's true, and that my grandmother was right, but today after the alarm of Roe v. Wade, I don't think that living in hell is punishment enough.

We thought our fight was finally coming to an end. The overturning of Roe v. Wade proves our fight is just beginning, and it's not going to be easy, pretty, or victimless.

John Casey is The Advocate's editor at large.