Kamala Harris and Mazie Hirono are trying to bar observant Catholics from public office

In September 2017, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., suggested Judge Amy Coney Barrett is too Catholic to serve on the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

More than a year later, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., have renewed Feinstein’s line of attack, suggesting this month that attorney Brian Buescher may also be unfit to serve as a federal judge on account of his Catholic faith. The only difference between now and September 2017 is that Hirono and Harris are not so explicit in their bigotry.

In a set of written questions submitted to the nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, Hirono and Harris zeroed in on Buescher's affiliation with the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic charitable organization founded in 1882. Harris’ questions began by noting that Buescher has been a member of "an all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men” since 1993. She then asked a number of leading questions, including, “Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman’s right to choose when you joined the organization?” and, “Have you ever, in any way, assisted with or contributed to advocacy against women’s reproductive rights?” and, “Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed marriage equality when you joined the organization?”

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