US: Anti-gay group wants Supreme Court Justices to quit marriage case
The American Family Association has called for two Supreme Court justices to recuse themselves from an upcoming case on same-sex marriage.
Last week, the highest court in the US announced it would review rulings on same-sex marriage bans from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee – and a ruling could cement equality across the US.
However, the anti-gay American Family Association has called for two of the justices on the court – Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan – to recuse themselves from the case, as they have both performed same-sex weddings.
Justice Ginsbug – the most liberal judge on the court – has quietly officiated a number of same-sex weddings, having first done so in 2013.
Justice Kagan also officiated a same-sex union last year – for her former law clerk Mitchell Reich and his husband Patrick Pearsall.
Incredibly, the anti-gay pressure group is claiming that because the justices have performed private ceremonies, it shows they are biased in favour of equality.
AFA President Tim Wildmon said: “Both of these justices’ personal and private actions that actively endorse gay marriage clearly indicate how they would vote on same-sex marriage cases before the Supreme Court.
“Congress has directed that federal judicial officers must disqualify themselves from hearing cases in specified circumstances.
“Both Kagan and Ginsburg have not only been partial to same-sex marriage but they have also proven themselves to be activists in favour of it.
“In order to ensure the Court’s integrity and impartiality, both should recuse themselves from same-sex marriage cases.
“Congress has an obligation to Americans to see that members of the Supreme Court are held to the highest standards of integrity. The law demands it, and the people deserve it.”
However, Mr Wildmon’s claims have no discernible legal basis – similarly arbitrary claims could be made that as seven of the nine justices are themselves married to people of the opposite sex, the entire court should be recused.
