UUA’s Advocacy Director Responds to Alito Nomination
November 2, 2005
In response to the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day O’Connor on the US Supreme Court, Unitarian Universalist Association Washington Office for Advocacy Director Rob Keithan issued the following statement:
By nominating Judge Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day O’Connor, President Bush has demonstrated a disappointing lack of commitment to ensuring diversity on the nation’s highest court. Upon initial inspection, Judge Alito’s record raises grave concerns about his commitment to ensuring constitutionally-protected civil rights and liberties. The Unitarian Universalist Association will be reviewing Judge Alito’s extensive judicial record with a particular concern for evidence of commitment to religious liberty, freedom of speech and of expression, and the right to privacy. The Unitarian Universalist Association believes that that nation’s judiciary should protect the rights of all people, regardless of gender, religion, class, sexual orientation, immigration status, or other factors.
The Unitarian Universalist Association and our allies will continue to challenge conservative religious fundamentalists and others who claim to speak for all people of faith. There is not one single religious perspective on this or any other social issue. We hope that all parties involved in the nominations process, including advocacy groups and elected officials, will refrain from using religion as a political weapon. There should be no religious litmus test for judicial nominees, nor McCarthy-style tactics that mislabel appropriate questions and concerns as “attacking” a nominee’s faith.
Our office will continue to monitor the use of religion in the nominations process. We look forward to a thorough and candid examination of Judge Alito’s qualifications and record in the coming weeks.
For more information contact infoatuuadotorg.
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Last updated on Tuesday, May 24, 2011.
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