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Thursday, May 07, 2009 Top religious right group has no problem with a gay Supreme Court justice
by John Aravosis (DC) on 5/07/2009 05:29:00 PM
They're lying. But this is still huge.
In a move that will surprise gay activists and liberals, a spokesperson for Focus on the Family, a top religious right groups, tells me that his organization has no problem with GOP Senator Jeff Sessions' claim today that he's open to a Supreme Court nominee with "gay tendencies."
The spokesperson confirms the group won't oppose a gay SCOTUS nominee over sexual orientation.
"We agree with Senator Sessions," Bruce Hausknecht, a spokesperson for Focus on the Family, which is headed by James Dobson, told me a few minutes ago. "The issue is not their sexual orientation. It's whether they are a good judge or not."
Their sexual orientation "should never come up," he continued. "It's not even pertinent to the equation."
Yeah right. This from the group whose leader said only six months ago that gays have a "disorder." Now we're fit to be on the Supreme Court?
This is a huge sign of the times, when the lead religious right group - this is James Dobson's group - is afraid to be openly homophobic. And earlier today, I noted how Tony Perkins over at the Family Research Council left gays out of his demand that the "new" GOP focus on social issues. The religious right may actually be - at least publicly - backing away from its over hostility to gays.
Now, do they still hate us in their heart of hearts? Absolutely. Will they do everything in their power to hurt us, and take away our civil rights? You betcha. But now they're afraid to say it. And that's a huge indication of how far we've come, and how low the GOP has sunk. They know it's no longer acceptable to be anti-gay, but now they actually care. That's because they know they're in trouble. America has turned on them. So they're chucking their beliefs overboard in an effort to win back the middle.
Funny as hell.
But hey, we're happy to take Jeff Sessions and the religious right at their word, that they have no problem with a gay Supreme Court nominee. We'll be holding them to that promise.