Gay rights
groups declare opposition to Alito

A handful of the country's most powerful gay rights groups said Monday that they will oppose the nomination of Samuel Alito Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; Human Rights Campaign; National Center for Lesbian Rights; Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; and Lambda Legal said they are not convinced that Alito will enforce the principles of equal protection and due process. Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Legal, said Alito puts his personal agenda above the principles enshrined in the Constitution. "Unfortunately, what our analysis reveals is that Judge Alito has a political agenda different from that required of members of the judiciary," he said. "It is based on his personal political ideology and stands apart from any principle that can reasonably be located in the Constitution." Matt Foreman, executive director of the Task Force, said the appointment would spell disaster for LGBT America. "His record shows open and declared hostility to reproductive rights; to the power of Congress to protect all Americans; to the values of diversity; to established, fair, and effective rules in enforcing nondiscrimination protections; and to appropriate constraints on official- and public-space religious expression," he said. "We urge the Senate to reject his nomination." (Advocate.com)