Justice Scalia: Public Should Decide on Abortion---WHAT?

[dogday]

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia railed against the era of the "judge-moralist," saying judges are no better qualified than "Joe Sixpack" to decide moral questions such as abortion and gay marriage.

"Anyone who thinks the country's most prominent lawyers reflect the views of the people needs a reality check," he said during a speech to New England School of Law students and faculty at a Law Day banquet on Wednesday night.

The 70-year-old justice said the public, through elected legislatures - not the courts - should decide watershed questions such as the legality of abortion.

Scalia decried his own court's recent overturning of a state anti-sodomy law, joking that he personally believes "sexual orgies eliminate tension and ought to be encouraged," but said a panel of judges is not inherently qualified to determine the morality of such behavior.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/3/16/02331.shtml?s=ic

I am speechless

[ClassWarrior]

1. That'd be that criminal's worst nightmare.

Fat Tony talks big. :rofl:

NGU.

[Missy M]

2. Sounds to me like Scalia has some kinks in his closet!!

[Stephanie]

17. well we know he's into self-flagellation

as prescribed by Opus Dei

[Mythsaje]

3. And meanwhile

Freeper heads explode. Film at 11.

heh heh.

[MadHound]

4. Well then Fat Tony, let's do this thing

Put up a nationwide referendum on the ballot, and whichever side gets the most votes wins. Judging by the polls, I think that pro-choice would be the one left standing, by a very large number.

[CornField]

5. Justice Scalia believes popular opinion should trump the Bill of Rights?

If we were to follow what Scalia is advocating here, a black man and white woman would have never been allowed to marry. Further, the black man would have probably been shot or tortured for his "lustfulness" of pure white women.

This is absolutely the most asinine thing I've ever heard.

[moobu2]

13. Yep....otherwise known as “MOB RULE”

Scalia's such a mental midget.

[Jim__]

6. The majority doesn't get to decide whether or not we have a right to

privacy. That's why we have a Constitution, to protect our rights from the will of the majority.

[Blaze Diem]

7. Maybe the'y like to bring it to a public vote..like the elections..

"Hello, Diebold?"

[Mountainman]

8. They are not supposed to judge morality but constitutionality.

Our laws should not be based on a popular conseption of morality but on our constitution. Most people who upheld slavery and segregation did so based on their moral beliefs.

[Toots]

9. The US Constitution was written to protect from tyranny of the majority

If the people were allowed to make such decisions women would not be allowed to vote or Blacks allowed Freedom. If People were allowed to vote there would be no need for Supreme Court.

[W_HAMILTON]

14. Yep

As a gay person, I get tired of this argument that it should be left up to the people to decide on these moral issues. As you pointed out, equal rights shouldn't be left up to popular vote.

If we're gonna do that, we should just vote on everything. We can then have zones that are anti-gay, and anti-black, and anti-abortion, and anti-cigarette, and anti-Hispanic, and anti-white, and anti-Republican (woohoo!), and anti-Muslim, and anti-Christianity (sure the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but if jackasses like Scalia want to shit on the whole "all men are created equal" part, why care about anything the Constitution says at all?), etc. That would make for a great country of our's, huh? :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[converted_democrat]

10. The man is off his rocker.. The last couple of speeches he has given

have been downright strange.. Couple weeks ago he was giving one that was on C-Span, and he was saying strange stuff at that one too.. I watched it, and there was a thread about it here on DU.. He was a total asshole..

[sinkingfeeling]

11. I'll go him one better....Individuals should decide moral questions for

themselves...not the state representatives nor Congress nor the Supreme Court.

[BootinUp]

12. good way to frame it. n/t

[mondo joe]

15. I thought the court's job was to determine constitutionality, not morality

I want to see his job description!

[Stephanie]

16. Good God! "sexual orgies eliminate tension and ought to be encouraged,"

WTF?? What a crude remark.