Did you ever notice how the sodomite loving (so THEY say) left smears people with accusations of buggery?

Roberts gay rights case surprises friends and foes; Supreme Court nominee helped as part of his pro bono work

"Why, he's a conservative," say the whisperers. "Working pro bono for the homos? It's unthinkable."

"Of course, he does have only adopted children and he only got married when he was about forty, you know."

Supporters and opponents of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts were caught off guard Wednesday by news that he worked behind the scenes years ago to assist a gay rights group win a key case before the nation's highest court.

Debate erupted on conservative and liberal Web sites, with partisans on both sides asking whether Roberts' assistance to what is usually considered a liberal cause was an aberration from his otherwise conservative record or a sign his views might be more nuanced than commonly thought.

Social and religious conservatives expressed dismay about his participation in the case but said they are not convinced it amounted to an endorsement of gay rights -- a movement they strongly oppose.

"While this is certainly not welcome news to those of us who advocate for traditional values, it is by no means a given that John Roberts' personal views are reflected in his involvement in this case," the political arm of Focus on the Family, a national organization of conservative Christians, said in a statement. "That's what lawyers do -- represent their firm's clients, whether they agree with what those clients stand for or not."

The White House sought to play down Roberts' participation in the case, known as Romer vs. Evans, in which the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in 1996 to strike down a voter-approved Colorado initiative that would have allowed employers and landlords to exclude gays from jobs and housing.
Roberts, then a lawyer at the Washington firm of Hogan & Hartson, helped gay rights activists prepare their challenge to the initiative as part of his firm's pro bono work.

Roberts did not mention his work on the case in responding to a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire that asked for examples of his pro bono work. Roberts' involvement in the case was first reported Wednesday.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Roberts spent less than 10 hours on the case while devoting more than 200 hours to two other pro bono cases in which he was lead counsel.

Jean Dubofsky, the lead lawyer for gay activists challenging the Colorado initiative, said Roberts gave her crucial advice in how to argue the case before the Supreme Court. (Thanks to SFgate.com and Yahoo!News for the heads up.)

Maybe, someday, (not in our lifetimes, kiddies) even the perverts will realize the left is a place to be avoided.