Americans For Truth About Homosexuality Calls On Solicitor General Kagan To Reveal Her Sexuality

Let the personal attacks on the newest Obama nominee begin. 

Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (whose leader Peter La Barbera has said "I sincerely believe that nobody has to be gay" and has donned "leather daddy" gear in order to videotape S&M gatherings secretly) has issued a press release calling for Solicitor General Elena Kagan "to answer the question: 'Are (or were) you a practicing homosexual?'"

In the wake of AP's report that Solicitor General Elena Kagan is President Obama's choice to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) reiterates its call for Kagan to answer the question: 'Are (or were) you a practicing homosexual?'

According to some reports it is an open secret that Kagan is a practicing lesbian - to which AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera responds:

"If Kagan is practicing immoral sexual behavior, it reflects on her character as a judicial nominee and her personal bias as potentially one of the most important public officials in America. The popular mantra - even among conservatives - is that Kagan's sexuality is 'irrelevant.' But a Justice Kagan would help decide some critically important constitutional issues dealing with: homosexual 'marriage' as a supposed civil right; religious liberty and freedom of conscience; and the First Amendment as applied to citizens' right to oppose homosexuality. So it certainly matters if she, as a lifetime judge, could emerge as a crusading (openly) 'gay' advocate on the court...

"Besides, in an era of ubiquitous pro-gay messages and pop culture celebration of homosexuality, it's ridiculous that Americans should be left guessing as to whether a Supreme Court nominee has a special, personal interest in homosexuality.

"Given the important homosexual-related issues coming before the Supreme Court, Kagan should say so if she has a personal interest in lesbianism. Similarly, any legislator - especially one representing a conservative district - should come clean on the homosexuality question particularly if it is an 'open secret' like Mark Foley's homosexuality (years before the page scandal) or becomes the subject of wide speculation.

"We appeal to Kagan and all potential "hiding-in-the-closet" public officials to answer the question: 'Are (or were) you a practicing homosexual or do you consider yourself homosexual (gay)?' Homosexuals' privacy interests simply do not outweigh the public's right to know about potential conflicts-of-interest in the lives of their judges and lawmakers."

The public actually doesn't have a right to know the personal details of the Solicitor General's life.  Despite what many on the right evidently believe, a person's unique characteristics -- whether gender, race, religion, or sexuality -- don't govern every decision they make.

And that is particularly true for Supreme Court Justices.  No one would suggest that Justice Ginsberg makes every judicial decision based on whether the plaintiff is female or not, or that Justice Alito casts every vote based on his religion, or that Justice Thomas automatically rules on the side of African-Americans simply because they are of the same race.

It is the same for sexuality.  If Solicitor General Kagan was a married mother of three, we wouldn't be having a conversation over whether or not her heterosexuality would skew her judgment.

Think Progress has more on the absurd correlation the right is using between a potential Justice and their sexuality.