Posted on 02/06/2019 7:43:24 AM PST by SeekAndFind
On Tuesday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a 2020 candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, asked Trump judicial nominee Neomi Rao if she considered homosexual relationships to be sinful. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) immediately called Booker out on this line of questioning.
Booker seized on Rao's 2008 article opposing the Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas, which decriminalized homosexual activity. He then directly asked her, "Are gay relationships in your opinion immoral?"
"I am not sure the relevance of that," Rao responded.
"Do you think gay relationships are immoral?" he continued.
"I do not," Rao said.
"Do you believe they are a sin?" Booker pressed.
"My personal views on any of these subjects are things I would put to one side," the nominee said.
"So you're not willing to say whether you believe it is sinful for a man — for two men — to be married?" the senator pressed once again.
"No," Rao responded.
"Excuse me?" Booker said.
"My response is that these personal views are ones that I would put to one side. Whatever my personal views are on the subject, I would faithfully follow the precedent of the Supreme Court," the nominee said.
Booker later launched into a speech about the struggles LGBTQ Americans have faced.
"You know LGBTQ Americans have faced a long history of discrimination, long histories of violence, intimidation, bullying. Young LGBTQ youth in America report not going to school because of fear for their own safety at rates that are unconscionable," he said. Finally, he asked a question, "Why is this administration currently trying to do so much to roll back transgender right protections and the like?
"I think civil rights and equal protection of the laws are two essential values in our system," Rao responded. "If I were to be confirmed as a judge, I would firmly uphold that."
Unsatisfied, Cory Booker asked, "Have you ever had an LGBTQ law clerk?"
Rao, who has never yet served as a judge, noted that she does not have law clerks.
"Sorry, someone working for you," the senator responded.
"To be honest I don't know the sexual orientation of my staff. I take people as they come. Irrespective of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, I treat people as individuals. Those are the values that I grew up with and those are the values I would apply if confirmed," the nominee responded.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) slammed Booker for his line of questioning, arguing that questions about what is sinful should be utterly off-limits in confirmation hearings. He cited the Constitution's ban on a religious test for public office, and declared, "I don't believe this is a theological court of inquisition."
"The Senate Judiciary Committee should not be a theater for twisting nominees' records or views, nor should it be an avenue for persecution," Cruz declared. "We have seen a growing pattern among Senate Democrats of hostility to religious faith. I was deeply troubled a few minutes ago to hear questioning of a nominee asking your personal views on what is sinful. In my view that has no business in this committee."
"We have also seen Senate Democrats attack what they've characterized as religious dogma. We have seen Senate Democrats attack nominees for their own personal views on salvation," Cruz added, noting that "Article Six of the Constitution says there should be no religious test for any public office."
Cory Booker later insisted he supports religious freedom but did not explain whether he would accept nominees who hold traditional Christian sexual morality — or other traditional religious standards.
Trump nominated Neomi Rao, an Indian-American former law professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School who currently serves as the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, to replace Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the federal Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit. The American Bar Association (ABA), not usually well-disposed to conservatives, has rated Rao "well qualified" to serve on the D.C. Court of Appeals.
Not mine. We call sin sin and we know the Ten Commandments.
That is not relevant. Such things are not decided by the Bishop according to religious precepts but by a judge in Court according to the Law. The Law governs.
If you’re church has people in it, then it has sin.
Maybe not that sin, but it has all types of other sins.
These questions are from a guy who watches a lot of gladiator movies.
RE: But, but ... he now has a girlfriend.
Freddie Mercury had a girlfriend too.
Yup. Open season on anyone with traditional Judeo-Christian values.
Double open season on Catholics.
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yup.
setting RBG replacement confirmation hearings.
btw, isn’t Spartacus booker gay?
I have no idea what he even means by gay “relationships”. I’m sure gays have “relationships’ with friends and family that wouldn’t necessarily be sinful. It’s gay sexual behavior that is a sin. You can hate the sin and love the sinner.
"Booker seized on Rao's 2008 article opposing the Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas, which decriminalized homosexual activity."
FR: Never Accept the Premise of Your Opponent’s Argument
Patriots are reminded that the states have never amended the Constitution to expressly protect so-called LGBT “rights” like the Founding States did with the rights they amended the Constitution to expressly protect with the Bill of Rights.
So Booker's hiding behind the scandalous (imo) decision of activist justices in Lawrence v. Texas to push politically correct LGBT issues is just another example showing that Democrats rely on state sovereignty-ignoring judicial tyranny to win votes from low-information voters to stay in power.
Doubly-plus literally correct if that protected group votes Democrat (but I am redundant, conservatives don’t have any protected groups!)
“Are gay relationships in your opinion immoral?”
Go ask God Cory.
Freddie was bi.
When I took Sociology 1000, homosexuality was deviant behavior. I’ll go out on a limb and say nothing has changed. But being an old straight white guy, what would I know?
For someone who claims to have a girlfriend, he sure is obsessed with gay issues.
Adultry is no longer criminal. Is it still sinful?
She is a Parsi (Indian Zoroastrian).
She was apparently raised Parsi, but is married to a Jew and sends her children to Jewish schools, although I have never seen a reference to her having converted to Judaism.
There is no doubt. Cory Booker is a fag.
Absolutely but our church does not teach to sin.
Someone should ax him if he likes gladiator movies.
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