Retiring Massachusetts Rep. Barney
Frank says Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is “a flat out
bigot.”
The 72-year-old Frank has the
distinction of being the first openly gay member of Congress and the
first to enter a marriage with a member of the same sex.
When asked by The
Huffington Post his thoughts on Scalia's recent comparison
between gay sex and murder, Frank said he was glad Scalia was being
honest.
(Related: Antonin
Scalia defends comparing gay sex to murder.)
“I was glad that he made clear what's
been obvious, that he's just a flat out bigot,” Frank said. “I'd
previously said he was a homophobe. And Fox and the right wing said,
‘Oh just because he's not for same-sex marriage? And I said, 'No,
let me be very clear. That's not it. This is a man who has said you
should go to prison for having sex.' It was an extraordinarily
abusive sentiment and it was dead wrong. And, by the way, for a guy
who is supposed to be so smart – quite stupid. This young man said
to him, 'Why do you compare sodomy to murder?' And he said, 'Well
because I have a right to say if I think something is immoral.' Well
the question wasn't about his right. The question was, 'By what
morality is expressing your love for someone in a physical way
equivalent to killing that person?' It makes it clear that the man
is an unreconstructed bigot, and given that you have a bigot on the
Supreme Court like that, it is useful to know.”
(Related: Paul
Scalia, Antonin Scalia's son, promotes chastity for gay Catholics.)