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Alabama's Bill Pryor is an Unacceptable Bush Court Nominee

Senate Urged: Reject Religious Zealot & Gay Civil Rights Foe

Major Issues: Texas Sodomy Case and Church/State Separation

Compiled by GayToday

Washington, D.C.-Both Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Log Cabin Republicans are urging the U.S. Senate to reject the nomination of Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director:

"Bill Pryor has waged an unrelenting crusade in the courts against church-state separation. He clearly wants to overturn a half century of court rulings upholding religious liberty and other fundamental constitutional protections. It's hard to think of any nominee less suited for a seat on the federal appeals court. I urge all Americans to call their senators and oppose this nomination."

Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor

Pryor's nomination is scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, June 11.

Pryor built his political career in Alabama around his legal support for a local judge's display of the Ten Commandments and sponsorship of Christian prayers in the courtroom. More recently, the state attorney general has enthusiastically represented Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore in his campaign to erect a two-ton Ten Commandments monument in the state judicial building in Montgomery.

"An analysis of Mr. Pryor's work finds compelling evidence that he would be a jurist incapable of fair-minded review of matters of concern to gay and lesbian Americans," said Log Cabin Republican Executive Director Patrick Guerriero.

Of particular concern are Pryor's legal arguments offered in an amicus brief on behalf of the state of Alabama in the Texas sodomy case that is currently before the United States Supreme Court . Pryor forcefully defended the laws that allow for the government to invade the homes of Americans and arrest law-abiding citizens for private and consensual acts of intimacy. At a 1997 "Save the Commandments" rally in Montgomery, Pryor told the crowd, "God has chosen, through his son Jesus Christ, this time, this place for all Christians - Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox - to save our country and save our courts."

In his war on church-state separation, Pryor's legal team has contended that the First Amendment's provisions do not fully apply to the states and that local officials may follow their own definition of the Constitution's requirements, even if it conflicts with the rulings of the federal courts.

Pryor has also maintained a close official relationship with extreme Religious Right groups. In the Ten Commandments case, he appointed Herb Titus, founding dean of TV preacher Pat Robertson's law school, to defend Moore's religious display. In an earlier school prayer lawsuit, Pryor named as assistant attorney general Jay Sekulow, head of Robertson's legal group, the American Center for Law and Justice.

Americans United is currently preparing a report on Pryor's extreme record A statement from Log Cabin's Patrick Guerriero said:

"We call on members of the Senate Judiciary, Democrats and Republicans, to address Mr. Pryor's record on civil rights for gay and lesbian Americans. And we continue to urge the Bush Administration to select open minded and fair jurists to be placed on the federal bench. We believe that Mr. Pryor does not meet that criteria."

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