Alito renews criticism of Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling in rejecting Missouri jury case

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito renewed his criticism Tuesday of the high court’s landmark same-sex marriage ruling, addressing it in a five-page statement as part of an order explaining why the court declined to hear a case involving a Missouri lawsuit.

The case in question, the Missouri Department of Corrections v. Jean Finney, involved a dispute where jurors were dismissed from the employment discrimination case after they voiced religious concerns about same-sex relationships.

In his statement Tuesday, Alito said he agrees with the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the Missouri lawsuit but said it “exemplifies the danger” that he anticipated in the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges case.

“Namely, that Americans who do not hide their adherence to traditional religious beliefs about homosexual conduct will be ‘labeled as bigots and treated as such’ by the government,” he wrote.