President Obama may be considering nominating the first openly gay Supreme Court justice, Marc Ambinder reports. “Two of the the most qualified center-left jurists in the country are gay,” he writes, “and they’ve got friends in high places.”
The nomination of a gay person to the Supreme Court would, needless to say, represent a watershed moment in American history. But it would be even more significant if Obama didn’t reference the person’s sexuality as a factor. By nominating a highly-qualified jurist who just happens to be gay, Obama would be forcing conservatives to confront how they really feel about gays in society. Most conservatives who oppose gay rights insist that they are not homophobic. Instead, they are fighting against “special privileges” for gay people and defending “traditional marriage” from attack. The Supreme Court vacancy presents an interesting opportunity for Obama to call their bluff.
