Supreme Court Nominee John Roberts: Gay Rights Champion?

I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Judge Roberts was a “gay rights champion”. I believe that groups that try to put Judge Roberts into a box and define him are looking at him in the wrong way. There is a great danger to placing judges into a box - almost as a way of telling them how they must rule, if we are to confirm them. Is that what we really want? Do we put such little faith into the ruling document of this county, the Constitution? If you have such little faith in the Constitution, you should read it again, or, for the first time if you’ve never read it.

Under the surface a rare firestorm of dissent is brewing within the Republican Party. To squelch the dissent, Republicans are spinning like mad to put to rest the notion, any notion, that John Roberts might be tolerant of Americans who are gay.

The Los Angles Times revealed last week that Supreme Court nominee Roberts once volunteered his time, pro bono, on behalf of gay rights in the case Romer v. Evans. As a partner in the law firm of Hogan & Hartson, Roberts helped prepare lawyers who successfully challenged a Colorado law that specifically exempted gays from state anti-discrimination measures. [...]

Thus, there is some evidence existing now that John Roberts does not harbor prejudice and bigotry against gay men and lesbians, as are the stated policies of the Bush administration and the current incarnation of the Republican Party.

The White House and its allies, shocked by the implications of moderation, set out on a quest that can only be defined in one way: To put to rest any doubt of Roberts tolerance, and prove that John Roberts is a bigot.

It is clear why the Republicans and their allies have begun a campaign to prove that John Roberts is an intolerant man. To a large extent, the conservative movement in this country has been tied to homophobia and bigotry. The “southern strategy” which is still alive, has morphed into an additional “gay bashing” strategy, and any threat to that strategy on the Supreme Court will anger and alienate their base. (source)

All of this is true. I listen to a multitude of news channels - yes, even Sean Hannity, to get a well rounded idea of the “buzz” out there. Let me tell you, Hannity is totally beside himself. Yesterday, he was talking about ways in the future to know for certain that a candidate is very very conservative and, which is more important, will STAY THAT WAY, and not become “more liberal”, over time.

The Republicans are on a dangerous course, and many of them now know this. This little piece of information on Judge Roberts has sent a shock through their conservative base that Judge Roberts might just be, heaven forbid, “tolerant”. What does that say about the Republican Party? That intolerance is now a “family value”?

They have enjoyed a lot of success at a great expense to gay and lesbian Americans. But you know what? We aren’t alone. Veterans have lost a great deal under this Administration. I know many people trying to change to different jobs in hopes of achieving a higher wage in a market that is somewhat stagnant. The list goes on and on, yet it’s falling on deaf ears with this Administration. We are at war, after all. And for a country at war, we are spending a great deal of money on... things - things we need - things we can’t do without. You know, all those things that somehow add up to billions and billions of dollars. Yet, we still see the need to strip away benefits from veterans.

In fact, the war is going so poorly, that even the President is losing support from the Republican base. And that is why no one is openly going out on a bashing party after Judge Roberts. This was their President’s nominee. With everything else going to Hell, how can they criticize the President on this? Not a good place to be in. Whether they like it or not (and they don’t), they are going to have to eat this nomination and let it go even though many of them now see Judge Roberts as a “moderate”.

A colleague of mine asked me yesterday my thoughts on Judge Roberts, given this new bit of information (his involvement in “the gay case”). My personal feelings (and it’s only my feeling), is that Judge Roberts is, on a personal level, not that friendly towards gay people or gay issues. Having said that, what I was really impressed with was his ability to clearly think through the issue and come up with a result that just may not be what he thinks personally. In other words, he was fair.

Isn’t that what we should be after?