{"id":72735,"date":"2018-09-04T14:25:25","date_gmt":"2018-09-04T18:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/supreme-court-justice-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-picking-up-where-scalia-left-off\/"},"modified":"2018-09-04T14:25:25","modified_gmt":"2018-09-04T18:25:25","slug":"supreme-court-justice-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-picking-up-where-scalia-left-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/supreme-court-justice-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-picking-up-where-scalia-left-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Justice Nominee Brett Kavanaugh: Picking up where Scalia left off?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Supreme Court Justice Nominee Brett Kavanaugh: Picking up where Scalia left off?<\/b><\/p>\n

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Today, the confirmation hearings for the next Supreme Court Justice begin in D.C., where Judge Kavanaugh, Trump\u2019s nominee, may be confirmed to the Supreme Court for a lifetime appointment\u2014a decision that will have an impact for decades.<\/p>\n

But what kind of Justice will Brett Kavanaugh be? His record has still largely not been made public, itself a concerning factor during this nomination process. Instead, advocates must look to his public statements and endorsements to get a sense of his political views. And they\u2019re not looking good.<\/p>\n

Judge Kavanaugh has described the notoriously homophobic Justice Antonin Scalia, as a \u201chero\u201d and a \u201cjudicial role model,\u201d and praised his dissent in Obergefell v. Hodges<\/em> \u2014the landmark ruling that made same-sex<\/a> marriage legal in all fifty states. Throughout his career, Justice Scalia spoke extensively about his hostility towards LGBTQ people, and was unwavering in his comparison of homosexuality to murder<\/a>. In his dissent<\/a> in Obergefell v. Hodges<\/em>, Scalia argued that the legalization of marriage equality was a \u201cthreat to American democracy\u201d that \u201crobs the People of… the freedom to govern themselves.\u201d What did Judge Kavanaugh think of that?<\/p>\n

He praised Scalia\u2019s dissent.<\/p>\n

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Brett Kavanaugh wants to pick up where Justice Antonin Scalia left off. Throughout his career, Justice Scalia was hostile towards LGBTQ people, comparing gay<\/a> rights to murder, and saying marriage equality was a \u201cthreat to American democracy.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/cct8DByBTp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 GLAAD (@glaad) September 4, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

GLAAD has sent to media background information on Scalia’s\u00a0“worst hits”, which are included below. A role model? They’re\u00a0not the kind of American values we’d expect an incoming Supreme Court Justice to support.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, while serving in the George W. Bush administration, Kavanaugh worked closely with the team that pushed for the so-called Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have defined marriage in the United States as a union of one man<\/a> and one woman<\/a> under federal law. He\u2019s also received support and endorsements from the Family Research Council (FRC), which has been designated an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center; and the Federalist Society, which has produced materials arguing against every major LGBTQ policy proposal, including the Employment Non Discrimination Act<\/a> and transgender accommodations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kavanaugh was also vetted<\/a>, and is considered to be a \u201cstellar\u201d judge<\/a>, by \u00a0the virulently anti-LGBTQ Heritage Foundation, which has claimed that marriage equality would make people less monogamous<\/a>, increase abortions<\/a>, and eventually lead to \u201cgroup marriage<\/a>,\u201d and consistently opposes transgender rights. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

President Trump\u2019s concerning selection of Brett Kavanaugh, and his record of appointing anti-LGBTQ federal judges, has put hard won LGBTQ rights and protections in jeopardy. In response, GLAAD Campus Ambassador Tony Hernandez went to Capitol Hill to personally hand-deliver questions<\/a> about Judge Kavanaugh\u2019s past remarks and endorsements, and ask\u00a0the 21 members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to confront Judge Kavanaugh with these questions during the confirmation hearing process.<\/p>\n

GLAAD is encouraging people to contact their Senators and ask them to support pro-equality judicial nominations and oppose Kavanaugh\u2019s confirmation at our Amp Your Voice Action Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more about\u00a0Justice Scalia\u2019s Appalling Anti-LGBTQ Record:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 Dissenting in a 1996 ruling in favor of state\u2019s rights to ban LGB discrimination, Scalia equated gay rights with heinous acts<\/a>, writing that he \u201chad thought that one could consider certain conduct reprehensible \u2014 murder, for example, or polygamy, or cruelty to animals \u2014 and could exhibit even ‘animus’ toward such conduct”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Defended<\/a> his comparison of homosexuality to murder: \u201cIt’s a form of argument that I thought you would have known, which is called the ‘reduction to the absurd. If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dismissed<\/a> court protections of gay<\/a> rights by sarcastically asking, \u201cWhat about pederasts?\u201d…\u201cWhat about child abusers?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Didn\u2019t believe<\/a> gay<\/a> sex<\/a> was protected by constitutional right to privacy: “Homosexual sodomy? Come on. For 200 years, it was criminal in every state\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Warned<\/a> in his 2003 Lawrence v. Texas<\/em> dissent that decriminalizing sodomy would lead to legalizing bestiality, incest, and more: \u201cState laws against bigamy, same-sex<\/a> marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity are likewise sustainable only in light of Bowers\u2019 validation of laws based on moral choices. Every single one of these laws is called into question by today\u2019s decision; the Court makes no effort to cabin the scope of its decision to exclude them from its holding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Called<\/a> the Supreme Court\u2019s 2015 legalization of marriage equality a \u201cthreat to American democracy\u201d that \u201crobs the People of… the freedom to govern themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Wrote<\/a> in his Lawrence<\/em> dissent: \u201cMany Americans do not want persons who openly engage in homosexual conduct as partners in their business, as scoutmasters for their children, as teachers in their children\u2019s schools, or as boarders in their home. They view this as protecting themselves and their families from a lifestyle that they believe to be immoral and destructive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Also in Lawrence<\/em>, he noted<\/a> that the ban on sodomy \u201cundoubtedly imposes constraints on liberty,\u201d before defending that ban by saying, \u201cSo do laws prohibiting prostitution, recreational use of heroin, and, for that matter, working more than 60 hours per week in a bakery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Wrote<\/a> of bans on gay<\/a> sex<\/a>: \u201cMen and women<\/a>, heterosexuals and homosexuals, are all subject to [Texas\u2019] prohibition of deviate sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Incorrectly claimed<\/a> that sociologists are engaged in great debate about the legitimacy of gay<\/a> parents: \u201cIf you redefine marriage to include same-sex<\/a> couples<\/a>, you must permit adoption by same-sex<\/a> couples<\/a>, and there\u2019s considerable disagreement among sociologists as to what the consequences of raising a child in a single-sex<\/a> family [are]. Some States do not do not permit adoption by same-sex<\/a> couples<\/a> for that reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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September 4, 2018<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Issues:\u00a0<\/div>\n