Justice Antonin Scalia has made it
clear that he believes laws which banned gay sex were constitutional,
which suggests he is not likely to back marriage rights for gay and
lesbian couples.
Speaking at an appearance at the
American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. to pitch his book,
Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts, Scalia told a
few hundred people that he applies the words in the U.S. Constitution
as they were understood by its authors, the AP reported.
Using his “textualist” method makes
ruling on some of today's hot button issues easy, he said.
“The death penalty? Give me a break.
It's easy. Abortion? Absolutely easy. Nobody ever thought the
Constitution prevented restrictions on abortion. Homosexual sodomy?
Come on. For 200 years, it was a crime in every state,” said
Scalia, who was appointed to the court by President Ronald Reagan in
1986.
The Supreme Court is likely to consider
a gay marriage case this term. Four legal challenges to the Defense
of Marriage Act (DOMA) have been appealed to the high court. DOMA
denies a range of federal benefits to legally married gay couples.
Proponents of Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban, have also
asked the Supreme Court to review a lower court's ruling which struck
down the voter-approved amendment.