Open Forum: Justice Sotomayor - Friend or Foe?

This week the senate held confirmation hearings on Judge Sotomayor who is widely expected to receive more than enough votes in the democratic controlled congress. This would be historic in the respect that it would be the third woman nominated to the Supreme Court and the first Latina.

Not much is known about where Judge Sotomayor stands on LGBT issues, she has had very few cases that have dealt directly with queer concerns. Major LGBT advocacy groups however like the Human Rights Campaign applaud her nomination and claim "confidence" in her judicial philosophy. The mere fact that she has been nominated by democrats is not enough to assure us on how she will rule on key issues. Many republican nominated judges have turned out to be more moderate/liberal as seen in the California supreme court ruling on Prop 8, and the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous ruling on marriage equality. Judges are supposed to rule on the merits of the case and only follow the constitution. Ideally issues on LGBT equality should not be considered a conservative nor liberal issue, but a civil rights and constitutional issue. Sadly, activist judges on the conservative end of the spectrum have failed to uphold the constitution and use loopholes in the law to justify their viewpoint.

Do you think Judge Sotomayor should be confirmed, will she be an LGBT ally on the bench or might we see a democratically appointed judge who is conservative on social issues that effect our community?

Open Forum: Media - Friend or Foe?

It doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize that the mainstream media does not lend much focus to gay rights issues. Even big news like the recent marriage equality rulings within courts and legislatures, one would still be hard pressed to find it mentioned on various news outlets. After some digging, maybe there will be a reference to it on some page, but rarely do these issues get brought to the main page.

The media tends to focus more on gossip aspects of gay culture/life like gay sex scandals, Miss California versus Perez Hilton, etc.

Is this just a change in times when news reporting is really just another attempt at ratings and not about disseminating real and accurate information? Is the media an ally in the fight for equality? On one hand by not discussing these wins, it allows for the gay rights movement to progressively win more states under the radar without public scare. On the other hand, we rely on media representation and discussion of our lives and issues to reach out to middle America with our mission. What do you think, friend or foe?