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Statement

Gorsuch Confirmation by Nuclear Option Puts Workers, Families and Our Democracy at Risk

April 7, 2017
Gun Control, Maternal Health, Workplace Justice

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and executive director of MomsRising, an online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court
“By invoking the nuclear option to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court without bipartisan support, U.S. Senate Republicans have moved our country in a dangerous direction, undermining our democratic institutions and imperiling the rights of women, LGBTQ+ people, communities of color, immigrants and workers.
 
“As moms, we teach our kids that you can’t change the rules just because you are not winning the game. When Gorsuch could not win the support of 60 U.S. Senators, his nomination should have been withdrawn. The democratic solution would have been to change the nominee, not change the rules.
 
“Not only was the process of his confirmation deeply troubling for our democracy, but Justice Gorsuch’s appointment itself is dangerous. His record shows that he will not protect our constitutional rights and freedoms. As the National Rifle Association’s chosen candidate, Gorsuch will surely rule against gun safety measures that protect our children, our families, and our communities. Gorsuch has also consistently ruled in favor of corporations over workers, including in the original Hobby Lobby decision, which allowed bosses to deny women birth control coverage. Further, reports that Gorsuch told his students that companies should ask women about their pregnancy plans during job interviews, as well as his claims that women manipulate employers by taking maternity leave and then quitting to stay home with their children, suggest he has troubling attitudes toward women and mothers.
 
“By confirming Gorsuch, U.S. Senate Republicans finished what they started last year with their shameful refusal to even hold a hearing for President Obama’s overwhelmingly qualified nominee, Judge Merrick Garland. They have ignored their constitutional responsibilities in favor of partisan politics - placing party over country to the detriment of us all. We applaud the senators who took a principled stand against Gorsuch and the nuclear option. When lawmakers stand in defense of our country’s principles and communities, the moms of America stand with them and we all win.”
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.