Was Scalia A Homophobe? (A Rhetorical Question)

Justice Antonin Scalia's untimely death on Saturday immediately brought forth the expected pundit praise for a career well-lived. His intellectual rigor, devotion to Catholicism and outgoing warmth were cited, along with his ability to antagonize his political foes with his brusque, often offensive outbursts, notably on LGBT equality issues.

The LGBT community responded in a far more muted way.

Lisa Keen, the legal activist of the Keen News Services, wrote a column over the weekend in which she gathered quotes from LGBT legal advisors and commentators to gather a consensus reaction to his death, which clearly saw him as influential in perpetuating anti-LGBT views, but also one that wouldn't stand the test of time.

"'It is already apparent that one result of Justice Scalia's passing will be to focus public attention on how important the Supreme Court is to the lives of all Americans, which I think is a good thing,' said Jon Davidson, national legal director for Lambda Legal," reads Keen's piece.

"Davidson said he expects history will judge Scalia 'quite harshly' when it comes to the rights of LGBT people, women, and people of color.

"Davidson's colleague, Jenny Pizer, Lambda senior counsel, said Scalia's 'contempt for gay people will look increasingly anachronistic - and disturbed - over time.'

"'I believe his strongest influence has been as a trumpeter, calling to rally the Religious Right,' said Pizer. 'His intemperate tone has seemed intended to inspire anger and alarm among those working for reactionary causes....[G]iven how frequently his dissents have been cited as authority by the lower courts, he certainly has had influence in slowing LGBT legal progress that way, as well as by motivating political outrage against, and defiance against, liberal court decisions.'"

Not that such comments are anything new in LGBT culture's attitudes towards Scalia, who has long characterized the justice as no friend to the community. Just last June on the day when the Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage in all states, Barney Frank took exception to Scalia saying "the substance of today's decree is not of immense personal importance to me" and called him a homophobe.

"Yeah, right. This strikes me as the least sincere disavowal of homophobia I have encountered since former Majority Leader Dick Armey tried to argue that his reference to me as "Barney Fag" was just a mispronunciation of my last name," The name of the column was "Justice Scalia Is a Homophobe."

Back in 2014, Business Insider speculated on how Scalia was going to vote on the (then) upcoming same sex marriage case, concluding that in lieu of his comments, he would rule against marriage equality.

For their first example, BI cited his dissent to Lawrence v. Texas, the case in which SCOTUS struck down the Texas sodomy law.

"Many Americans do not want persons who openly engage in homosexual conduct as partners in their business, as scoutmasters for their children, as teachers in their children's schools, or as boarders in their home. They view this as protecting themselves and their families from a lifestyle that they believe to be immoral and destructive."

Next BI chose a Scalia comment found in his dessent to Romer v. Evans, which allows cities to pass LGBT anti-discrimination ordinances.

"Of course it is our moral heritage that one should not hate any human being or class of human beings. But I had thought that one could consider certain conduct reprehensible - murder, for example, or polygamy, or cruelty to animals - and could exhibit even "animus" toward such conduct. Surely that is the only sort of "animus" at issue here: moral disapproval of homosexual conduct ..."

Also in that decision, Scalia suggested that support of LGBT equality is a class issue.

"This Court has no business imposing upon all Americans the resolution favored by the elite class from which the Members of this institution are selected, pronouncing that 'animosity' toward homosexuality ... is evil."