Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., questioned Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 14, the third day of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Blumenthal asked Barrett about her legal position regarding judicial decisions on a range of “fundamental” cases, including Lawrence v. Texas, “which held that the government cannot criminalize gay and lesbian relationships,” and Obergefell v. Hodges, which upheld marriage equality.
“Sen. Blumenthal, every time you ask me a question about whether a case was correctly decided or not, I cannot answer that question because I cannot suggest agreement or disagreement with precedents of the Supreme Court,” Barrett said. “All of those precedents bind me now as Seventh Circuit judge, and were I to be confirmed, I would be responsible for applying the law of stare decisis to all of them.”
In response to her answer, Blumenthal stated that he believes “a lot of Americans will be scared by the idea that people who want to simply marry or have a relationship with the person they love could find it criminalized” or “could find marriage equality cut back." He added that “it would be an America where I would not want to live.”
“To suggest that that’s the kind of America I want to create isn’t based in any facts in my record,” Barrett said.
Blumenthal also asked Barrett to speak to her position on climate change, quoting a response she gave during yesterday’s hearing in which she said she would not say she “has firm views on it.” He asked if she believes human beings have caused global warming.
“I don’t think that my views on global warming or climate change are relevant to the job I would do as a judge, nor do I feel like I have views that are informed enough, and I haven’t studied scientific data,” Barrett said. “I’m not really in a position to offer any kind of informed opinion on what I think causes [global warming].”
The hearing came about three weeks before Election Day. The third of four days of scheduled testimony gave senators another opportunity to ask Barrett about her record and approach to the law.

Watch highlights from from Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearing - Day 1:    • WATCH: Highlights from Amy Coney Barr...  

Watch highlights from Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearing - Day 2:    • WATCH: Highlights from Amy Coney Barr...  

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