 (Washington) LGBT civil rights groups already
concerned about Judge John Roberts nomination to the
Supreme Court are urging extra caution now that he
is under consideration to succeed William H.
Rehnquist as Chief Justice.
Rehnquist died Saturday night at
his Virginia home. (story)
He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last October.
Early Saturday President Bush
nominated Roberts - whose name was already before
the Senate to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the
high court bench - to succeed Rehnquist. (story)
"Justice O'Connor's retirement,
combined with the passing of Chief Justice
Rehnquist, changes the picture dramatically and
raises the stakes for those who care about full
equality for all Americans," Lambda Legal Executive
Director Kevin Cathcart said Tuesday.
"If John Roberts, who is 50, is
confirmed, he could lead the Supreme Court through
the terms of a half-dozen Presidents. It is now
more critical than ever that Roberts forthrightly
answer, a full range of questions about his judicial
philosophy during his upcoming confirmation
hearings. We call on the U.S. Senate to scrutinize
Roberts's nomination vigorously because a firm
commitment of equality and justice for all Americans
is a measure of fitness to serve on the U. S.
Supreme Court."
Senate confirmation hearings on
Roberts nomination to succeed Rehnquist will begin
on Thursday. Roberts served as a pallbearer as the
casket bearing Rehnquist's was brought to the the
Great Hall of the Supreme Court. Roberts, like the
other pallbearers, was a former clerk to Rehnquist.
Lambda Legal has provided the
Senate Judiciary Committee with 30 questions that
John Roberts needs to answer to determine whether he
will defend the rights of gay men, lesbians,
bisexuals and transgender people and those affected
with HIV. (story)
"Getting answers to those
questions is even more critical now," said Cathcart.
"As a result, we've extended the deadline for our
petition to the U.S. Senate, which demands that
those questions be asked and answered."
Last month, before Bush nominated
Roberts to succeed Rehnquist, four other national
gay rights groups announced their opposition to
elevating Roberts to the Supreme Court. (story)
The Human Rights Campaign, the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National
Center for Lesbian Rights and Parents & Friends of
Lesbians and Gays issued a joint statement calling
on the Senate to reject Roberts.
"His writings as a lawyer, his
rulings as a judge, and his statements as a
policymaker all lead us to the unfortunate
conclusion that Judge Roberts would not vote to
protect our civil rights from those who are, at this
moment, fighting so hard to take them away," the
organizations said in the joint statement last
month.
But, even though he is a
conservative, some right of center groups raised red
flags when it became known that while a lawyer in
private practice Roberts had worked pro bono for a
gay group preparing a case for the Supreme Court.
In 1996 he offered advice in Romer
vs. Evans, which sought to have struck down a
voter-approved 1992 Colorado initiative allowing
employers and landlords to exclude gays from jobs
and housing. (story)
The LGBT group won the case in a 6-3 decision.
Public Advocate, a Virginia-based
conservative organization that opposes gay rights
and abortion, withdrew its support for Roberts when
his involvement in the case became known. (story) |
