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(Washington) A tape of a speech given earlier this month by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has drawn the ire of LGBT civil rights activists who worry the landmark high court ruling on sodomy could be revisited.
Scalia rarely speaks to the media and seldom allows the press into speeches he gives but a recording of a March 8 address at the University of Freiberg in Switzerland was obtained by CNN.
In one portion of the speech to law students at the university Scalia brings up the issue of homosexuality.
"Question comes up: is there a constitutional right to homosexual conduct? Not a hard question for me. It's absolutely clear that nobody ever thought when the Bill of Rights was adopted that it gave a right to homosexual conduct. Homosexual conduct was criminal for 200 years in every state. Easy question."
He also told the students that foreigners waging war against the United States have no rights under the Constitution.
Earlier this month, the governor of South Dakota signed a law that makes it illegal for a woman to have an abortion. It is widely expected that the will be appealed, opening the way for the Supreme Court to revisit Roe v Wade.
A similar scenario could also send sodomy back to the high court.
In 2003, in a 6 - 3 decision, the Supreme Court overturned laws against sodomy, saying that states cannot make laws regarding the private sexual conduct of Americans.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.
"The court has largely signed on to the so-called homosexual agenda," Scalia wrote for the three. He took the unusual step of reading his dissent from the bench.
"The court has taken sides in the culture war," Scalia said, adding that he has "nothing against homosexuals."
With the high court more conservative than it was three years ago, LGBT leaders are worried the court may reverse itself.
"Justice Scalia stubbornly refuses to see that all Americans have a right to liberty and privacy under the law," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.
"Justice Scalia was dangerously out of step with Americans in 2003 when the Supreme Court decided this question and he remains so today.
"This is just the latest example of why it's so critical that fair-minded Americans think of the Court when they head to the ballot box. With the Supreme Court tipping further to the right, these sentiments could one day become reality," said Solmonese.
©365Gay.com 2006
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