Supreme Court Appointment, Critical for Gay Rights

I am not about to start picking apart President Bush's nominee for Supreme Court Justice until the nominee has been selected and is before the Judiciary Committee in the Senate.

I would like to take the opportunity to show how critical this appointment will be with regards to gay rights issues.

The religious right definitely wants a socially conservative nominee. This would be the type of nominee that will be out to thrust their faith into their decisions. These are the most dangerous candidates that President Bush could nominate. Most definitely, a social conservative will have the most negative reaction from the liberals and Democrat Senators.

There is another component of the Republican party that believes in upholding and strengthening state's rights. These judges aren't so bad. Decisions are based on their strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.

Liberal judges aren't goin to happen. That's for certain. However, they have a much more broad interpretation of what the U.S. Constitution says and what it implies. This tends to be a mentality that grants more rights, roles, and responsibilities to the federal government.

Three types of judges . . . one doesn't have a chance, one has a chance, and the other is hoping they can shift this country into the hands of the religious right.

Let us all hope that a social conservative justice does not make it on the bench. If that happens, a serious blow to the fabric and foundation of our country will have been delivered by the religious right. We must all work for the non-socially conservative nominees, even if the nominee isn't how you view the U.S. Constitution. Any socially conservative nominee must be fought in everyway possible
on every front and on every hill, especially Capitol Hill.

One potential nominee that has been plugged since the vacancy was made (even before that really) was Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. Check out my article during his confirmation hearings. Even though all of that is water under the bridge, it may give one pause as to why this individual is not best-suited for this position.

Watching how Bush delivers the name of his final nominee for this first vacancy will be quite telling in how much consultation he really made. At that time the nominee will be torn apart by every side. We do live in amazing times!

And you can Quote me on that. The Quotable Queer

The Question of Acceptance of the Gay Community

As a month of Pride festivals comes to a close, the issue of ultimate acceptance has began to be the object of numerous conversations of GBLT people. It is a common theme that appears throughout the lives of most people in the gay community. For that matter most minority groups struggle with majority acceptance; it is not just a gay issue.

Acceptance is an idea; it is not something concrete nor constant that you know you absolutely have. Therefore, if you ask for acceptance from the community-at-large you will nearly always be disappointed with the outcomes.

Take, for instance, the civil rights fight of the African-American community. Their fight very much continues today with regards to public opinion, although it has improved greatly over the years. Much has been accomplished for black Americans, with civil rights laws being enacted to protect them, at least legally, from outright discrimination. However, there is still much progress to be made.

The minute a person asks for acceptance, it allows for open non-acceptance. No matter what, that non-acceptance will be present. It is just critical to not give this bigotry an open door for declaring their views and rallying their troops.

Demanding equality, demanding civil rights should be the preferred method. Equality and civil rights are much more concrete and ultimately attainable than the fight for acceptance will ever be. Concentrating efforts in that way will yield much more positive results ultimately.

And you can Quote me on that. The Quotable Queer