PFLAG Expresses Grave Concern Over the Supreme Court Nominee

To: National Desk

Contact: Ron Schlittler of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, 202-467-8180 ext. 226 or http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=55942&Link=mailto:rschlittler@pflag.org, Web: http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=55942&Link=http://www.pflag.org

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) expressed grave concern today over President Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.

As a judge on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Alito has amassed a record of hostility towards cherished rights and freedoms such as civil rights, women's rights, privacy rights and separation of church and state, the group says. As recent as 2001, Judge Alito ruled unconstitutional a public school policy that would have protected students from harassment based on their sexual orientation.

"An initial review of Judge Alito's record does not offer much hope for the GLBT community and our chances for a Supreme Court free from extreme ideological activism," said PFLAG's executive director Jody Huckaby. "We were looking to the President to select a nominee that all of our family members, gay and straight, could count on to up-hold their basic rights and freedoms, but instead we got Samuel Alito."

"I urge the Senate to take their role in this process very seriously, and particularly my own Senator Arlen Specter, who chairs the Judiciary Committee," said Fran Kirchner, Pennsylvania PFLAG mom. "My daughter and the daughters and sons of all PFLAGers deserve more than just a rubber stamp."

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Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is the nation's foremost family-based organization committed to the civil rights of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender persons. Founded in 1973 by mothers and fathers, PFLAG has 200,000 members and supporters in more than 500 chapters throughout the United States. Web: http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=55942&Link=http://www.pflag.org