Barney Frank:
Scalia's a Homophobe

Massachusetts representative Barney Frank called conservative Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia a "homophobe."

In a video interview with 365Gay.com , Frank said that state-level court cases involving benefits for same-sex partners will eventually go to the U.S. Supreme Court, a bad situation, given the current makeup of the court.

"I wouldn't want it to go to the United States Supreme Court now because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current court," said Frank.

Scalia dissented from the court in Lawrence V. Texas , the landmark 2003 ruling that reversed state laws banning consensual gay sex, often charged as sodomy.

Frank also said that Rep. Tammy Baldwin's proposed bill to grant same-sex partners of federal employees the right to certain spousal benefits probably won't have enough support now, but could be passed within the next few years. He also said that Congress should be able to pass a bill to bar discrimination against LGBT workers, a bill that hit snags in the last term. In 2007, Frank backed a revised version of the bill that did not include transgender workers so that it would be more digestible for moderates and conservatives, igniting backlash from supporters of the more inclusive measure.

By the end of the 2010 term, Frank says Congress will "repeal 'don't ask, don't tell,' put in place a good anti-discrimination bill, and put into place a hate-crimes bill, both of which would be transgender-inclusive."