Today, the online-version of the Advocate Magazine published an interesting story about a Letter to the Editor signed by Supreme Court Justice Nominee Sonia Sotomayor in 1976. In the letter to the editor of the Princeton University daily newspaper, Sotomayor joined 38 other people in condemning an attack against 2 students that were members of Princeton's Gay Alliance. This news may be of interest to some who are curious of Sotomayor's personal politics. To clarify, it should be noted that the letter itself is a defense of the First Amendment, and not gay life per se.
In recent weeks, I've read many stories and blog posts that have questioned where Sonia Sotomayor stands in terms of gay and lesbian politics. I admit, I've also been wary of how Sotomayor would affect the court's views on gays and lesbians. The Advocate's reporter - Julie Bolcer - writes a good, albeit brief article on this question by pointing to Sotomayor's condemnation of what is commonly believed to be an anti-gay act. The reporter Bolcer draws her story from the Daily Princetonian, which was published on May 15th 2009. As of yet, I don't believe any Kossacks have discovered this news, but if I'm wrong, please let me know. And Julie Bolcer writes:
Judge Sonia Sotomayor, whose Supreme Court nomination hearings are slated to begin on July 13, was one of 39 members of Princeton University who signed a letter to the campus newspaper in 1976 condemning an attack against a gay student group.
According to The Daily Princetonian, the letter to the editor, published on February 27, 1976, was "written in response to an incident six days before, when eight students ransacked the dorm room of two gay students who were members of the Gay Alliance of Princeton."
You can read the entire letter from Sotomayor and others below. And while I am still unsure how Sotomayor views gay politics, this letter provides me with some small inkling of hope. I draw hope because her support of first amendment rights - suggests that she recognizes the great importance of having the freedom to express oneself - regardless of one's personal politics. Of course, I also know that this letter is from 1976, so her views on what the 1st amendment "guarantees" could have changed since then, but I still think that her support in this letter is somewhat telling. She could have easily remained silent and disregarded the raid of the gay students' housing. But she didn't. She stood up publicly for the right to express oneself freely. The Advocate reporter also writes ~
The letter, which can be read in its entirety here, would seem to suggest more about the young Sotomayor’s views on the First Amendment than her specific feelings about the gay community.
"No matter how much one may disagree with the Gay Alliance or the policies they are advocating, no matter how repugnant one may find homosexuality, the manner of expressing this opposition should be intellectual," reads the letter. "At this university we are dedicated to persuasion by reason, not by brute force."
Here's an image of the letter from the Daily Princetonian, starting at "Rights ofAll" ~
What do you think? Glass half-empty or glass half-full? Or for those who hate a binary, what do you think? Or what have you heard? Let the gossip and rumor-mill begin ...