Questions For Judge Sotomayor

Quoting Gary Bauer:

[W]ill a Justice Sotomayor uphold religious liberty and free speech or will she vote to restrict both? In a 2003 case, Judge Sotomayor ruled that local laws intended to promote “tolerance” trumped a pastor’s First Amendment rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion. Senators should question Judge Sotomayor on how religious liberty might be impacted if the so-called “hate crimes” bill now pending in the Senate becomes law.

Senators should also question Judge Sotomayor on the right to life, especially in view of Justice Ginsburg’s outrageous statement over the weekend about Roe v. Wade. Unbelievably, Justice Ginsburg told the New York Times Sunday magazine, “Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.” Justice Ginsburg also went on to express her view that the Supreme Court was wrong to uphold the Hyde Amendment, which restricted taxpayer funding of abortions in Medicaid.

Does Judge Sotomayor share the view that our Constitution permits the destruction of certain people that we “don’t want to have too many of”? Would a Justice Sotomayor join Ginsburg in ruling that taxpayers must subsidize abortion through Medicaid or a new socialized healthcare scheme?

Senators should also ask Judge Sotomayor if she still stands by her decision in Maloney v. Cuomo, in which she ruled that cities and states can impose restrictions on an individual’s Second Amendment rights. These are just a few questions that the American people deserve to have answered before senators vote to promote Judge Sotomayor to the highest court in the land.