Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Got Her Start as College Homophobe
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley's college editorials are coming back to haunt her. Bradley, who was appointed by Governor Scott Walker last year, has always been considered a conservative. But her student op-eds show what form her college-aged conservatism took: full-on, hardcore homophobia. Bradley's writings will make your drunk, Trump-loving uncle look like a master of good taste.
College students and future lawyers, this is why you don't put your crazy rantings down in writing.
This Is Your Supreme Court Justice, Wisconsin
We all do stupid things in college, but Bradley's editorials weren't just stupid, they were "auditioning for the Westborough Baptist Church" levels of stupid. In one, she condemns the "misdirected compassion for the degenerates who basically commit suicide through their behavior." Who are those "degenerates?" "Queers" -- her word, not ours -- and others dying of AIDS.
To give some context, Bradley's op-eds were penned in 1992, when she was a student at Marquette University, a private, Catholic university in Milwaukee. It was the height of the AIDS crisis, before any viable treatment for AIDS existed and when thousands of people were dying from the disease every year.
In 1992, the epidemic had grown so severe that AIDS was the number one killer of men ages 25 to 44. And while America hadn't come as far on gay rights as it has today, statements like Bradley's were still extreme.
Not Just a Homophobe, But a Clintonphobe Too
Bradley's controversial -- and crazy -- statements don't stop with condemning those dying of AIDS.
In an editorial decrying the election of Bill Clinton, Bradley once again goes off the rails. Clinton is a "queer-loving" commie who is also:
a murderer who will prevent innocent people from getting the life-saving surgery they need, while self-centered women can get abortion any day. One will be better off contracting AIDS than developing cancer, because those afflicted with the politically correct disease will be getting all of the funding. How sad that the lives of degenerate drug addicts and queers are valued more than the innocent victims of more prevalent ailments.
"Have I offended anyone?" the editorial asks. (Just those with brains, Bradley.)
"I've Changed!"
As a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Bradley now helps decide cases about gay rights, equality, health care, women. The justice claims that her earlier writings don't represent who she is today. "To those offended by comments I made as a young college student, I apologize, and assure you that those comments are not reflective of my worldview," she said in a statement. "These comments have nothing to do with who I am as a person or a jurist, and they have nothing to do with the issues facing the voters of this state."
We'll soon find out if Wisconsin voters believe her. Bradley is up for reelection on April 5th; if she wins. she'll stay on the state Supreme Court for ten years.
Related Resources:
- The Case for Rebecca Bradley's Conversion Is Weak (Wisconsin Gazette)
- Gay Marriage Lawyers Want $1 Million. Here's a Look at the Bill (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
- Chicago Lawyer Suspended for Calling Other Attorneys Gay Slurs (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
- Driskell v. Homosexuals: On Behalf of God, Woman Sues All Gays (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
