Antigay Pryor
likely to get permanent seat on federal bench

Long derided by Democrats as one of the most extreme judicial nominees in history, former Alabama attorney general William Pryor will now likely get a lifetime seat on the 11th U.S. circuit court of appeals as part of a congressional compromise that averted elimination of the judicial filibuster on Monday. Pryor has been criticized for his right-wing views on abortion and for comparing homosexuality to bestiality and necrophilia. "We are gravely disappointed that Judge William Pryor, who has a record of attacking equal rights for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, is one of the nominees who will proceed," said Human Rights Campaign executive director Joe Solmonese. "We will continue to focus on Pryor's extreme views and urge senators of both parties to oppose his nomination." Jody Huckaby, executive director of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, described Pryor as a dangerous enemy to gay and lesbian families. He upheld a ban on adoption by gay parents in Florida, and in the 2003 Texas sodomy case before the U.S. Supreme Court he filed an amicus brief comparing same-sex relationships to pedophilia. "This is a bleak day for our families," Huckaby said. "The radical right continues to prey on our loved ones and, as evidenced by this deal, we have no defenders." But Solmonese added that the deal to preserve the filibuster does provide some future protection against even more radical nominees. "This will be particularly important when a nominee for the Supreme Court is named," he said. "We laud this effort and those senators from both sides of the aisle who crafted the agreement to protect our nation and put an end to the nuclear option.... In the long term, this compromise has kept intact a process that has been going on for centuries allowing the minority party to weigh in on the judges selected by the majority. That this power is preserved is extremely important to GLBT Americans and our allies." Other Bush nominees who will be allowed to advance to a full senate vote include: - Janice Rogers Brown, nominated for the U.S. court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit. She is an African-American member of the California supreme court who had been blocked by Democrats for nearly three years for what they say is her conservative activism, including a vote against adoption rights for gay couples in California. - Priscilla Owen, a justice on the Texas supreme court, nominated by Bush for the fifth U.S. circuit court of appeals, based in New Orleans. A Sunday school teacher who graduated at the top of her law school class, Owen had been repeatedly blocked by Democrats who labeled her an ultraconservative activist and faulted her rulings against consumers, working people, and minors who want abortions.