Frank: not all gay-rights opponents are homophobic

WASHINGTON -- Congressman Barney Frank defended his use of the term "homophobe" to describe Antonin Scalia, the conservative Supreme Court justice who has ruled in favor of limiting legal protections for gays.

"What a 'homophobe' means is someone who has prejudice about gay people," Frank told WBZ radio, arguing that Scalia's judicial writing "makes it very clear that he's angry, frankly, about the existence of gay people."

In particular, Frank cited Scalia's opinion in the 2003 case Lawrence v. Texas, in which the Supreme Court struck down state laws barring consensual acts of sodomy. In his dissent, Scalia wrote that the 6-3 vote served to ratify an "agenda promoted by some homosexual activists directed at eliminating the moral opprobrium that has traditionally attached to homosexual conduct."

"If you read his opinion, he thinks it's a good idea for two consenting adults who happen to be gay to be locked up because he is so disapproving of gay people," Frank said yesterday.

Frank was justifying remarks made in an interview with a gay-news web site about the prospect of justices voting to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 bill that allows states not to recognize same-sex marriages. "I wouldn't want it to go to the United States Supreme Court now because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current court," Frank told 365Gay.

Frank argued that Justice Clarence Thomas, who joined Scalia's dissent and is viewed as interchangeably conservative on moral issues, had a "very reasonable" opposition to the Court's ruling in the Lawrence case. (A Supreme Court spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from Scalia.)

"While I support same-sex marriage, I don't think if you're against it you're homophobic," said Frank. "I don't think Clarence Thomas is homophobic."