Americans United in May released a statement mourning the death of former Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, who was a strong supporter of church-state separation during his 19-year tenure.
“We at Americans United mourn the loss of Justice David Souter, a champion of our Constitution’s promise of church-state separation,” said AU President and CEO Rachel Laser in a statement. “Both during his 19 years on the Supreme Court bench and afterward as a senior judge on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Souter repeatedly recognized that forcing taxpayers to fund private, religious education and other religious activity violated their religious freedom.”
Laser noted that Souter ruled for religious freedom in public schools, LGBTQ+ equality and abortion rights.
“Souter fought to protect children from facing religious coercion in public schools. He understood that students and their families, not public schools, should decide if, when and how children engage with religion. He upheld the Roe v. Wade decision, affirming a constitutional right to abortion, and several times voted to uphold the rights of LGBTQ+ people — spurning the court’s ultra-conservatives and religious extremists who wanted the court to impose narrow religious beliefs on all Americans.”
She added, “Souter was a jurist who was guided by the law, not partisan inclinations. His much maligned judicial independence became a rallying cry for conservatives and Christian Nationalists to capture the court: ‘No more David Souters.’ Justice David Souter refused to be put in an ideological box and instead ruled as the Constitution required. The bench could use more David Souters today.”
Souter was nominated for a seat on the high court by President George H.W. Bush in July of 1990. At the time, little was known about his views. Some conservatives complained that nominating Souter was risky, but White House Chief of Staff John Sununu assured conservatives that Souter’s nomination was a “home run.”
Once on the court, Souter supported not only church-state separation but legal abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.