WASHINGTON ― One of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees, Don Willett, said Wednesday he was just kidding that time he compared gay people’s constitutional right to marriage with a right to marry bacon.
Willett, nominated for a lifetime seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, told the Senate Judiciary Committee he wasn’t mocking same-sex marriage when he tweeted in April 2015 that he “could support recognizing a constitutional right to marry bacon” ― a day after the Supreme Court heard arguments in the landmark marriage equality case.
In what was surely a first for the committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) asked Willett why senators should believe he would respect Supreme Court precedent, if he’s confirmed as a federal judge, given that he compared marriage equality to cured pork.
“You’ve equated that constitutional right to same-sex marriage, which the Supreme Court has upheld, with a constitutional right to marry bacon,” Leahy said. “I don’t think one would see that as praising Supreme Court decisions.”
Willett, who has been a Texas Supreme Court justice since 2005 and is known for being active on Twitter, said he was trying to lighten the mood with his bacon post.
“That was the day after the [marriage equality] decision was issued,” he said. “It was my attempt to inject a bit of levity. The country was filled with rancor and polarization. It was a divisive time in the nation.”
“And you think that cut back the divisiveness?” Leahy asked, appearing incredulous. “With a comment like that?”
Moving on from the bacon defense, Willett said he believes everyone is “entitled to equal worth and dignity,” and that he “never intended to disparage anyone.”
Regardless of his tweets, Willett has a record of not recognizing same-sex marriage. In response to a Texas judge allowing two women to marry before the state’s ban on same-sex marriage had been struck down ― the judge cited special circumstances since one of the women had ovarian cancer ― the state Supreme Court last year dismissed the Texas attorney general’s challenge to their marriage. Willett filed a dissenting opinion.
Willett also dissented in a 2015 decision by the state’s high court to not take up a case on the validity of a Texas judge divorcing two women who had been legally married in Massachusetts. He argued the attorney general should have been allowed to enter the case to defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Texas is one of the few state with partisan judicial elections. In Willett’s 2012 race, he was endorsed by rabidly anti-LGBTQ advocates, including Focus On The Family founder James Dobson, Christian revisionist historian David Barton, Liberty Institute CEO Kelly Shackelford and Gov. Greg Abbott, the Republican who was then the Texas attorney general and now is the state’s governor.
The Judiciary Committee could send Willett’s nomination to the Senate floor in a matter of weeks. The 5th circuit appeals court hears cases from federal judicial districts in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Willett, 51, is on Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees. Trump repeatedly said on the campaign trail that he would only nominate people willing to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that recognizes women’s constitutional right to have an abortion.
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The Los Angeles LGBT Center
“All students deserve the dignity of being free from harassment and discrimination, including use of the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identities. Refusing to protect our most vulnerable youth is deplorable and dangerous. This is another clear signal of the Trump administration’s intent to rollback protections for LGBT people." -- Los Angeles LGBT Center Director of Public Policy And Community Building Dave Garcia
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)
“The withdrawal of this guidance is a devastating step back for transgender students, who today are receiving the message that the federal government will not vigorously defend their right to an education. This unfortunate reversal of protections reflects crass, unprincipled political pandering. The American people support fairness and equal treatment of all students and do not think vulnerable young people should be made pawns of a political drama being played out by the current administration." -- GLAD's Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer L. Levi
GLAAD
“Transgender youth face extremely high rates of discrimination and bullying. By rescinding the Department of Education guidance recommending trans students be treated equally under Title IX, the administration is sending an alarming message that it will no longer defend their rights. While this action does not and cannot take away any rights trans students currently have, it undermines the progress we have made towards equality and acceptance.” -- GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis
GLSEN
"While the Trump administration may abandon transgender students, GLSEN won’t. And neither will the thousands of teachers, administrators and parents around the country who work with GLSEN and our local chapters to ensure that transgender students everywhere have the opportunity to simply be themselves and live better lives. Schools, leaders and teachers must do the right thing and give all students the chance in life they deserve." -- Dr. Eliza Byard, GLSEN Executive Director
Physicians for Reproductive Health
“As an organization that cares deeply about adolescent health, we think it’s unacceptable to reverse a guidance that is meant to protect children who already face significant challenges to their well-being. Transgender children are often rejected by their family and peers, harassed, traumatized and abused, and are at a higher risk for depression and suicide. Discouraging or punishing children for expressing their true sense of identity threatens their health and well-being, and schools have a special responsibility to protect all young people, regardless of gender identity or expression." -- Dr. Diane Horvath-Cosper, Reproductive Health Advocacy Fellow at Physicians for Reproductive Health
Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute
“In a shameful display of failed leadership, today President Trump succumbed to his extremist advisors and provided permission for schools to discriminate against transgender students. The move – while abhorrent – is unfortunately not surprising. Regardless of Trump claiming he would be a friend to LGBT people, the reality is personnel is policy. Trump is surrounding himself with anti-LGBT appointees who demonize our community and reject the notion of civil rights for LGBT people, making anti-LGBT policies almost inevitable." -- Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute President and CEO Aisha C. Moodie-Mills
National LGBTQ Task Force
“This is an outrageous attack on the most vulnerable in our education system, transgender children. At a time when young people need all the help they can get to reach their full potential, all Trump has to offer is more opportunities to discriminate against them. When every parent of a trans child needs hope and optimism for their families, all the president has to offer is pain and despair.” -- National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
“Revoking the guidance shows that the president’s promise to protect LGBT rights was just empty rhetoric. But the bottom line is that this does not undo legal protections for trans students, and school districts can and must continue to protect them and all students from discrimination. School districts that recognize that should continue doing the right thing; for the rest, we’ll see them in court. We will continue to fight for the rights and dignity of transgender youth, especially now that the Trump administration has decided to turn its back on them.” --American Civil Liberties Union LGBT Project Director James Esseks
New York Civil Liberties Union
“The Trump administration has made it clear that it will not protect the rights of the transgender community – one of the most vulnerable populations in the U.S. Even as the law remains on the side of transgender students, the administration’s new guidance sends them a terrible message about their right to receive an education as the people that they are, and creates national confusion around our civil rights laws that will put countless transgender children’s lives and well-being at risk.” -- New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman
Lambda Legal
“We all know that Donald Trump is a bully, but his attack on transgender children today is a new low. The U.S. Department of Education’s decision to withdraw guidance clarifying the rights of transgender students endangers the well-being and safety of children across the country. Trump’s actions do not change the law itself—transgender students remain protected by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972—but abandoning the guidance intentionally creates confusion about what federal law requires. The law bars discrimination – the new administration invites it." -- Lambda Legal CEO Rachel B. Tiven
Equality Pennsylvania
"Every student should be treated fairly and equally under the law, and protecting transgender students helps ensure that they have the same opportunity as their classmates to fully participate in school. The Trump administration’s decision to rescind this guidance has no impact on schools that are already doing the right thing in line with this guidance – they can, should, and will continue to protect transgender students.That’s why revoking this guidance is indicative of the administration’s disregard for transgender youth and the many challenges they face. While it may not have a legal impact, it sends an alarming messaging that bullying and harassment are OK." --Equality Pennsylvania Executive Director Ted Martin
Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC)
"The unacceptable repeal of vital transgender protections in public schools by the Trump administration restricts the rights of an entire group of people. In recent years, we have made great strides in increasing social justice for the LGBT community, and this intolerant executive order diminishes that progress. We will continue to make our voices heard to ensure schools remain safe spaces for all children, regardless of the gender they identify with." -- GMHC CEO Kelsey Louie
National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)
"Since our founding, the National Center for Lesbian Rights has stood for the principle that every child deserves love, respect, and recognition for who they are. We have advanced this vision for 40 years, and we do not intend to let this administration's irresponsible and cowardly actions get in the way of fighting for our youth. We will not let Jeff Sessions and Mike Pence, two of the most openly anti-LGBT public officials in our nation’s history, erase the gains we have made." -- National Center for Lesbian Rights Executive Director Kate Kendell
Equality Florida
“This comprehensive guidance put in place by the Obama administration helped provide every student a fair chance to succeed in school and prepare for their future—including students who are transgender. Schools should be safe places for LGBTQ students who are already at a disproportionate risk for bullying and harassment. Rescinding the guidance yesterday has sent the message to transgender youth that the President of the United States doesn’t have their backs.” -- Gina Duncan, Transgender Inclusion Director for Equality Florida
