Scalia: "Don't paint me as anti-gay, anti-abortion."

Two Supreme Court Justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia, were interviewed jointly at George Washington University.   Although they are at opposite ends of the conservative-liberal spectrum and usually cancel each other's votes on controversial cases, they are personal friends.    They share a love for opera and have been known to travel together.    Personally, I don't see the likeable side of Scalia -- and I do have great liking and respect for RBG.    But, as is often said: there's no accounting for (the other guy's) taste.

Anyhow, we saw a slightly more humanized side of Scalia in this interview where, according to the Washington Post, he said:

"Don't paint me as anti-gay or anti-abortion or anything else.  All I'm doing on the Supreme Court is opining about who should decide: Is it a matter left to the people, or is it a matter of my responsibility as a justice of the Supreme Court? . .


"The issue of gay rights, on abortion, on many of the issues in which Ruth's opinions and mine differ does not pertain to the substance.  It doesn't pertain to whether gay people ought to have those rights or whether there ought to be a constitutional right or a right to an abortion."

Such a lovable guy, isn't he?     Perhaps RBG brings out the best in him.   It's actually the first time I've ever heard any quote from him where he seemed to care a damn what people thought of him.

Now, if she could just get him to change his mind about all those SCOTUS decisions.   While he's being "pure" in his strict contructionist, literal reading of the Constitution, his decisions have had devastating consequences for real, live people.

Is he right that his job is merely to decide what is up to the legislature to change -- and what might be a violation of the law, as already defined?    That would be so easy, compared to what a compassionate justice would consider.

Ralph