Looks like human rights, freedom, and free will are set to go down the pan in the U.S. with the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. 8-( So much for Bush's pledge to spread the light of freedom into the dark corners of the world. I'd say, first put your own house in order!
I'd also like to say to George W. Bush, please, extract your head from up your own ass and start seeing people who can't be neatly pigeon-holed as 'heterosexual', as real human beings, which they are - and very nice human beings too, in my experience.
I understand that G.W.B. is set to replace Justice O'Connor with someone from the extreme far right who will set about dismantling the advances that have recently been made, like the privacy law resulting from the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas case, and I'm guessing they'll be kissing gay marriage goodbye for many years.
I am also told that anti-gay extremists are already pushing some of the most anti-GLBT judges in history. A couple of people on their list of candidates are:
** Michael McConnell, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge. Here's what he has to say about GLBT anti-discrimination statutes, which he opposes: "At bottom, the problem is that anti-discrimination statutes label anti-homosexual feeling as 'discrimination' akin to racism. The law thus contains an approval of homosexual behavior."
(So it sounds like he's all in favour of gay-bashing, doesn't it?)
** Michael Luttig, another U.S. Court of Appeals judge, who has upheld the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy criticizing fair-minded judges for even discussing the issue of whether the military had the right to exclude openly homosexual individuals from service.
Words fail me - almost. Did they learn nothing in Iraq from fighting side by side with troops from other countries which don't exclude volunteers on grounds of sexual orientation? Gakkk! 8-(((
Want to know more? Try:
http://www.hrc.org/supremecourt/
http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=22707&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/
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