{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hankjohnson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-johnson-s-remarks-aclu-rally-supreme-court-masterpiece-cakeshop-case", "Rep. Johnsons remarks at ACLU Rally on Supreme Court Masterpiece Cakeshop Case", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "Hank Johnson", "J000288", "hankjohnson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014 On the morning of Dec.5, Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) spoke out against discrimination at the American Civil Liberty Union\u2019s (ACLU) rally as SCOTUS takes up the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case.\u00a0 \n\u201cGood morning! My name is Congressman Hank Johnson. I represent Georgia\u2019s Fourth Congressional District and I\u2019m happy to be here to support equal rights for everybody in this country.\n\u201cThe question that the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments on today, basically it\u2019s a common sense question: Does religious liberty trump civil rights? Is religious liberty more important than equal protection under the law? If you own a business open to the public, can you refuse service to someone because you don\u2019t like their lifestyle? Because you don\u2019t like the person that they hang out with?\u00a0\n\u201cThis case is about two people who were refused service at a business that is open to the public simply because the owner of that business didn\u2019t like their lifestyle. This case ladies and gentlemen is about whether a gay couple living in America has the same freedoms in this country that everyone else enjoys.\n\u201cWell, that\u2019s the question that is being faced today by the U.S. Supreme Court: whether or not equal protection is equal protection, or whether or not equal protection is equal protection because someone can have religious liberty and decide they want to discriminate against somebody.\u00a0\u00a0\n\"So, religious liberty ladies and gentlemen does not trump equal protection. And that\u2019s what this case is all about. This is what our fight is in this country: what\u2019s right is right and it\u2019s not right to discriminate against people on the basis of their sexual orientation. And so my grandmamma always said that right wins out over wrong and I still believe that. Do y\u2019all believe it?! Well, because you are standing out here for what\u2019s right I believe that you are on the right course.\n\u201cIf we continue our fight, we will always win. Thank you all so much for being here today.\u201d\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hankjohnson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-johnson-s-remarks-aclu-rally-supreme-court-masterpiece-cakeshop-case"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8159060962498188, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}