July 7, 2005 | Sex & Society

O'Connor resignation bad news for porn, gays

Justice Sandra Day O�Connor's retirement from the Supreme Court is an ominous sign for both porn fans and supporters of gay rights.

O�Connor was a key swing vote in two significant  adult-industry Supreme Court victories, FW/PBS v. City of Dallas,  placing limits on licensing of expressive adult businesses, and City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, allowing challenges to municipal regulation of adult businesses.

O'Connor voted for the the separation of church and state, siding with the 5-4 majority in the recent decision to remove framed copies of the Ten Commandments from the walls of two Kentucky courthouses. She was also part of the majority in Lawrence v. Texas,  a key gay rights victory that found state sodomy laws to be unconstitutional.

President George W. Bush will most certainly attempt to replace O'Connor with someone more sympathetic to his religious right supporters. If he succeeds, he or she will join Justices Scalia and Thomas and Chief Justice Rehnquist to form a courted warped to the right. 

Justice John Paul Stevens is now in his late eighties and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 72, has  reported health problems.  If the conservative controlled White House, Congress and Senate manage to ram through more right-wing appointments they could form a rightist voting block that would trample on gay rights and Free Speech.

Conservative power brokers will be very careful in their selections, because sometimes "conservative" appointees - who have a job for life -  have turned out to be more fair and balanced in their rulings, rather than single-mindedly implementing a right-wing agenda.

Should the Republicans succeed in creating a Supreme Court that cowtows to the religious right, gay rights and First Amendment protection of adult materials will be severely affected.

• What Justice O�Connor�s retirement could mean to the adult business [AVN]
• High court justice quits, gay leaders worry [gay.com]
• Decisions, decisions [Louis Menand on Sandra Day O'Connor] [The New Yorker]