Roberts dodges
gay rights question

During Senate confirmation hearings on Wednesday, U.S. Supreme Court chief justice nominee John Roberts demurred from answering a gay rights question posed by Sen. Russ Feingold. The Wisconsin Democrat asked Roberts whether he thought the Constitution gives Congress the power to ban employment discrimination against gays and lesbians. Roberts replied, as he has many times in this week's confirmation hearings, that he can't express an opinion on matters he might have to rule on. "Personally, I believe that everybody should be treated with dignity in this area, and respect," he said. "But the legal question of Congress's authority to address that, though, is one that could come before the courts."

Feingold also grilled Roberts about a memo he wrote when he was a White House lawyer in 1985, suggesting that a note saying the AIDS virus is not transmitted through casual contact be dropped from briefing materials for President Reagan. Roberts said Wednesday he did not "want the president giving out medical advice if it was a subject of some uncertainty." Feingold retorted that the mode of transmission was fairly well understood in 1985 and that the suggested change represented a lost opportunity for "presidential leadership and reassurance." (Sirius/OutQ)