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: Is the Federal Prop 8 Challenge Wise?

Once on opposite sides of a major U.S. court case Bush V Gore to determine the outcome of the 2000 presidential contest, Ted Olson and David Boies are now filing a federal challenge over the courts ruling on proposition 8.

The two attorney powerhouses are arguing that prop 8 violates the U.S. constitutional guarantee of equal protection and due process and maintain that federal courts will recognize sexual orientation as a suspect class that must be protected nationwide.

Below is a video of Ted Olson and David Boies discussing their case and plans with CNN's Larry King.


The loudest critics against this move are coming from those within the LGBT community. They are suspicious over Ted Olson who doesn't try to hide the fact that he is conservative. They also feel that there are not enough federal protections to have sexual orientation deemed a class that needs protection and don't believe they have the votes needed at the U.S. Supreme Court level to bring forth federal marriage equality. The activists and organizations prefer to take the state by state route, and feel that the Supreme Court issuing a ruling against same-sex marriage would set a very bad precedent for the movement.

What are your thoughts about this federal case for marriage equality? Regardless of the outcome should the push be made. Can we compare it to other civil rights struggles, where states refused to grant rights until mandated by the courts?