HARRISBURG, PA – June 30, 2023 – Senator Sharif Street issued the following statement after a second day of United States Supreme Court rulings that will profoundly impact communities, ending federal student debt relief and further eroding LGBTQ+ protections:
“There has been a fundamental shift in the role of our Supreme Court, which no longer protect rights but infringes on them.
Only a year ago they took away the fundamental right of women to make their own health choices. And in less than 48 hours they have uprooted affirmative action, ended federal student debt relief, and attacked our LGBTQ+ community. The US Supreme Court has been prodigious in eroding equity and protections and have made it clear that we are in a collective fight to protect and preserve our fundamental rights.
Turning a blind eye to the systemic inequalities that exist in college access and persist well after graduation is a blatant disregard to the challenges faced by the young people who will lead us into the future. Ruling to empower discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community enshrines discrimination as protected expression under the First Amendment.
This is not only a perversion of our constitution, which has always moved us toward our ideals of liberty and equality, but a dangerous precedent which now places every community at risk.
I remain committed to protecting the rights of all Pennsylvanians.”
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