Dear R. Zeke Fread,

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The Senate Judiciary Committee recently voted to send the nomination of Bill Pryor, the President's nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, to a vote of the full Senate. This is one of the most troubling nominees we have seen to date on GLBT issues. We are joined by allies such as the Log Cabin Republicans in opposition of Mr. Pryor's nomination. As Attorney General of Alabama, Mr. Pryor has gone out of his way to oppose GLBT Rights.

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Below is the sample letter:

Subject: Please Oppose the Nomination of Bill Pryor

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

As your constituent, I urge you to oppose the appointment of Bill Pryor to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Mr. Pryor has a record of demonstrated hostility to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, and he has abused his position as Attorney General to promote his sectarian religious and extreme political views. As someone who cares deeply about issues involving the GLBT community, I am very concerned with Mr. Pryor's record of promoting discriminatory anti-GLBT organizations on his AG official government website and for working to preserve archaic sodomy laws that criminalize gay relationships.

In fact, Pryor has labeled civil rights laws that prevent discrimination against the GLBT community as "special privileges or rights for homosexuals." This is particularly disturbing given the fact that in 37 states it is still perfectly legal in this country to fire someone simply for being gay or lesbian.

I am also very concerned with Mr. Pryor's efforts to preserve sodomy laws that label GLBT Americans as criminals. In one legal brief, he compared ! same-sex relationships with incest, pedophilia and necrophilia. His views on this subject run counter to professional and medical experts and do not reflect the views of a vast majority of Americans.

You and your colleagues in the Senate are the only ones who can ensure that we see fair-minded judges appointed to federal bench.

I urge you to oppose Mr. Pryor's nomination. I look forward to hearing your response.

Sincerely,

R. Zeke Fread

WHAT'S AT STAKE IN JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS

This issue is of vital importance to LGBT Americans. The federal courts have had a significant role both in providing and in denying LGBT Americans justice. There are currently no federal laws protecting LGBT Americans from employment discrimination or hate crime violence. The U.S. military, our nation's largest employer, under "Dont Ask, Don't Tell," specifically prohibits gay, lesbian and bisexual people from openly serving their country. Another federal law denies lesbian and gay families the federal rights and benefits that other families receive. That same law also singles out lesbian and gay families by permitting states to choose to ignore such same-sex marriages entered into in other states. "Sodomy" laws are commonly used to label LGBT individuals as criminals.

Gains at the state and local level on LGBT equality have been slow and hard-fought over the past few decades. Federal courts have and will continue to decide cases involving access to fundamental freedoms taken for granted by other Americans, including the right to privacy in their own homes, the recognition and protection of their relationships and families, their ability to live and work free from discrimination and violence, and their rights to free expression and freedom from religious oppression. These issues and how they play out in the courts are fundamental to the daily lives and welfare of all LGBT Americans.

BACKGROUND ON BILL PRYOR - NOMINEE TO THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUT

Mr. Pryor has a record of demonstrated hostility to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, and his career has been punctuated by disregard for the wall between church and state and abuse of his position as Attorney General to promote his sectarian religious and political views. We are gravely concerned that Mr. Pryor will be unable to set aside his personal views and bias in the function of his job. We believe this makes him unqualified for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench and thus strongly oppose his nomination.

Mr. Pryor has not simply fulfilled his role as AG, but rather has gone out of his way to oppose GLBT rights. In particular, he elected to file and author a brief in Lawrence v. Texas, a case that could find sodomy laws discriminatory and unconstitutional. Pryor's brief urges the Supreme Court to uphold Texas' "homosexual conduct" law. Although thirteen states (besides Texas) have these types of statutes on their books, Pryor's amicus brief was joined by only two: South Carolina and Utah. In addition, Pryor's reasoning in the case displays more hostility to GLBT people than the state of Texas brief or the Supreme Court's Bowers v. Hardwick opinion.

You can read HRC's Press Release about William Pryor by clicking here: HRC Press Release.

You can also read the letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee :HRC Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee