CONTACTAbout UsCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Equal Entertainment LLC.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
We need your help
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
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)
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Watch Now: Pride Today
Latest Stories
Sarah McBride defends transgender troops on House floor as Pentagon expels ‘committed patriots’
July 21 2025 12:39 PM
True
New study ranks U.S. states with highest STI rates
July 21 2025 3:01 PM
Texas AG Ken Paxton sues swimming group over inclusion of transgender women
July 21 2025 11:49 AM