NEW YORK, NY – In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solages, Chair of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus, released the following statement:

"The recent ruling by the activist majority on the Supreme Court, allowing discrimination based on sexual orientation, is deeply disappointing and chips away at the principles of equality highlighted in the Constitution. Justice Sotomayor's dissent rightly calls out the Court for relegating the LGBTQ+ community to second-class status. This decision, much like the Court’s in Bowers v. Hardwick in 1986, prioritized politics over interpreting the law.

This is a frightening exercise of ego and a shameless attempt to legislate hate from the bench. The Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus proudly supported the legalization of same-sex marriage when New York became the first state to enact the law in 2011, and we will defend the rights of our LGBTQ+ New Yorkers from conservative zealots."